Harry Potter and the Weaver's Diary
by Arden Sohrano
Summary: While Harry is sitting at the Dursleys before leaving for his first year at Hogwarts, he discovers a book that has slipped in with the others, one that is meant for him. What will be the result of this discovery? Canon pairings rated M for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know, I know. Another story, I must seem crazy to you guys. Well, sadly enough I am, either that or it's because of the muse that just won't leave me alone at times. In any case, this is the beginning of a completely new story (duh), one I hope you will enjoy. For those that have read my other stories, you might notice the distinct difference in chapter lenght. This however is not a one-time thing. I'm planning to make every single chapter in this story to be double the length of those in Nine Tailed or Dawn. That said, I have only one thing left to tell you.

Enjoy

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**Harry Potter and the Weaver's Diary**

**Chapter 1**

Everything was quiet at number four, Privet drive. The only sound breaking the silence being a lone stray cat that had taken up wandering around. Slowly the sun dropped below the horizon, staining the skies a deep red as day slowly gave way to the night. It wouldn't be long before Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley would go to sleep. Meanwhile, their live-in cousin, Harry Potter, was sitting on his bed, reading through some of the books he'd gotten earlier.

To most people, it would be a relatively normal situation. While there were the obvious differences between the Dursleys and Harry, most notable the weight difference between the males, it could be accepted as your everyday situation in your everyday household. Things had abruptly changed however. Mere days beforehand, Harry had found out something that was quite unbelievable. He was in fact, a wizard, capable of performing the most stunning magic one could imagine. This, combined with the appearance of Hagrid only a few days before, had caused some big changes in Harry's life.

While he never really got along with his surrogate family, now it was different. Whereas they usually yelled and shouted at him for doing things wrong, in their eyes, they still talked to him nevertheless. It was nice to have some human contact, even if it was a bit primitive. Now though, they ignored him. They went out of their way and hardly even spoke to him. Sure, he'd gotten a real room instead of the cupboard under the stairs and he didn't have to do as many chores as before, though they still left a paper with a list of chores, but that didn't change the fact that he having a bit of a dire need for contact. Hedwig, his owl, was good company, but she couldn't exactly hold a conversation with him, no matter how affectionate the small nips she gave him were.

This caused him to turn to something else for amusement, his books. Because he couldn't exactly do much while he was at the Dursleys, he decided that it was best that he caught up a bit to the other children he would meet at Hogwarts. He didn't know the first thing about magic, and as such was a bit at a disadvantage compared to the other students. The books themselves though, were quite interesting to say the least. He'd already moved through 'The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1' and 'A History of Magic' and was about to begin reading 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' when his attention was drawn to a small booklet that fell out between the pages of his Defence Against the Dark Arts book, landing on the floor of his bedroom with a muffled thump.

Curious about the small book, he put 'The Dark Forces' aside and leaned over to pick it up. A small shock coursed through his body as his fingers brushed over the leather cover of the book. Startled, he pulled back his hand as if it had been burned and stared at the small tome. It was no larger than one of the CD-cases of Dudley's collection but was at least twice as thick. Its worn leather cover was a deep crimson and almost seemed to pull in his stare.

While he was still a bit wary, his curiosity and innate endeavouring spirit eventually overcame his anxiety and he bent over again and carefully touched the book with the tips of his fingers, ready to pull back at the slightest sign of trouble. When nothing happened, he slowly curled his fingers underneath it and lifted it off the dusty floor of his room.

"Must've slipped in together with my regular books", he mused as he studied the cover closely. There was nothing written on there that could possibly identify the book. With a slight sigh, he carefully opened it and looked at the first page. What he saw there thoroughly amazed him.

"Good evening, Harry James Potter", was written in large letters on the first page of the book. However, as soon as Harry's eyes had taken in the words, the ink that made them up drifted apart and moved across the page.

"This may seem confusing indeed to one as young as you Harry, but please pay attention to the explanation that will follow shortly".

He snapped out of his brief trance and focused his entire attention on the small tome in his hands. As soon as he did so, the letters started changing shape again.

"As you may have noticed already, this is not an ordinary book", it began, "What you are holding is in fact the entire collection of knowledge from the author of this book, in other words, me, since I'm the one placing the spell on the book that will display this text. Since you are reading this, it means that the book has recognised you as its proper owner, this was signified by a small shock of sorts that occurred when you first touched the book. From now on you are the sole owner of this book, and it can only be read by you or another Weaver. The ability to weave spells however is exceedingly rare, so you probably won't find anyone else in your life that can do it as well. It is also much sought after, so it would be wise to keep it a relative secret. You maintain ownership until your demise, whether you keep the book or not. Now, you may be wondering, who is this author. Young Harry, I am not really well known as a matter of fact. I even believe you'll hardly even find any mention of me in a book or anything, at least one besides this little thing. The few people that do know about me, know me only as the first Spell Weaver".

"Since I'll only be speaking to you during this short introduction, my real name is not really that important. What is important, is that this book is, as I said before, a collection of all the knowledge I managed to amass during my life. However, this book has had a few owners before you by the time you're reading this, and while I don't know if they wrote anything in this diary, if they did, all those things are available to you as well. I've set this book to respond only to people that are like myself and just to be sure, I've added a sort of form you need to fill out in detail when you try to input data into this book, so that those after you don't accidentally use a deadly spell on a friend. So normally you should get a detailed explanation about everything you can find in here".

"Now, I think that by now you're starting to wonder about a few things, so I'll try to explain is as best as I can. While almost everyone in the wizarding world can use magic to some extent, with the exception of squibs, there are in fact few that can actually create spells, hexes, curses or anything else, with the exception of potions since that's actually nothing more than experimenting with ingredients. While most people usually create a spell or two in their lives, these are more often than not simple variations or extensions of existing spells, and while there are those that can actually create a completely new spell, it usually requires an immense amount of power, time and effort to pull it off. A Spell Weaver however, is different, and since you can read this book, it means that you too are one of us. Spell Weavers are people that have no trouble at all in understanding the underlying principles of the magic that happens when a spell is cast. The best way to describe it is as some sort of special vision one has. While most people see a spell as a simple blast of light or something else, a weaver will see the interactions of the magic that flows through both the body and wand of the caster, and the way it moves through the air. It is as if someone is weaving the individual strands of magic together when he is performing magic. Hence our name".

"This book contains both my own findings, and hopefully those of the owners before you. It is a repository of knowledge that is now completely at your disposal. You can reread this introduction if you simply open the book on the first page. The input forms for new spells or research findings can be found on the last few pages. Everything in between is where you'll find the rest. While the pages might appear blank at first, simply state a subject at them, and they will display all the relevant information concerning that subject. Also, the pages of this book will never run out so don't worry about that".

"Harry, use this book well and keep it safe. I wish you luck with the rest of your life".

With those final words, the pages emptied, leaving Harry sitting on his bed, deep in thought. The book's revelations were quite overwhelming to say the least, but already his mind was abuzz with the things he might be able to do. He sat upright in his bed and picked up the book again, opening it somewhere in the middle. As he'd been told they would be, the pages were blank.

"Techniques for beginning weavers", he stated firmly at the book. Instantly lines began to appear on the pages. He guessed that it was some sort of summary of all the entries that were already in the book. Just as he was about to pick a subject, he suddenly recalled the words of Hagrid. He'd been told not to do magic until he was at the school, something about underage magic.

"Hmmm, bummer that I'm underage and can't do magic at home", he muttered under his breath as his eyes slid over the different subjects. Creating spells would obviously involve the use of magic and thus was not an option.

The book however had other ideas. In response to Harry's mumble, the lines faded and reappeared, this time showing a whole new range of subjects. One in particular drew his attention.

"How to remove the ministry tracking charm from one's wand (suited for underage wizards and witches)".

"I love this book", Harry thought as he quickly spoke the entry's title.

What followed was a detailed explanation of how the charm worked and how one could remove it in several ways.

After reading through the entry, Harry picked up his wand. Using his recently acquired knowledge, he held it out in front of him and quickly moved his free hand from one end to the other.

"Ignotus", he stated clearly after he'd finished the movement. Much to his amazement, he could see the charm present on his wand try and send a message to whoever was listening for it. His own magic however shot out a small tendril and slashed the magical message to pieced before it moved through the rest of his wand and systematically started devouring the tracking charm. Once every trace of it had been eliminated, Harry's own magic slowly crept back into the wand.

While Harry had seen a spectacular battle between two opposing spells, all an outsider could've seen was a brief blue glow covering his wand before dissipating.

Satisfied with the results, Harry quickly moved back to the book and started looking through the beginners techniques again. It didn't take him long to figure out some things about the workings of magic.

Apparently the wand was a conduit for the magic of a person, amplifying and directing it as the wizard or witch shaped it into the form they wanted. The key factors for a successful spell were the wand movement, incantation and the intent behind it. These gave a spell its power. Certain parts could be put aside if necessary, such as the incantation, but the wand was necessary for most spells, with a few exceptions such as animagus transformations.

While this meant that in theory wandless magic was possible, those that tried had found that it was extremely difficult to perform even the most simple of spells without their wand.

After covering some of the theory behind magic, the book moved on to a few basic house holding spells. This because they were handy in everyday life and they used magic of several varieties and elements. The scourgify spell for example used a combination of a vanishing spell combined with a slight water and air spell woven into it. This combination gave the effect of clothes being cleaned with decent efficiency, though the effect would be lessened depending on the severity of the stains. Harry doubted the spell was strong enough to remove one of Dudley's occasional underwear paintings. He'd need a true washing charm for that.

Levitation, summoning and banishing spells were also covered extensively by the book. Harry could only imagine the amount of time he'd save if he were to use his magic when doing some of the chores. Quietly, he sneaked to the door of his and checked the lights downstairs. Noticing that they'd been turned off, it was a sure bet that his uncle and aunt had gone to sleep. Harry grinned, Dudley would be snoring like a chainsaw by now. Since his cousin's room was in between that of Harry and Vernon and Petunia, it was perfect as a buffer. He knew from experience that the only thing that would wake up Dudley was either a sufficient amount of sleep or the scent of a random sweet.

Gently closing his door he moved back to his bed and picked up his wand.

"Lumos", he whispered softly, carefully following the instructions of the book.

As he spoke the incantation of the spell, he noticed the magic flowing out of his body and into his wand until it finally came to rest at the tip where it emitted a bright light, bathing his room in an ethereal glow.

Harry shuddered at the feeling. It was extraordinary to literally feel the magic flow through him. That combined with the thrill of finally performing magic gave him a sense of elation like he had never felt before.

Quickly he dove back to the book, eager to learn some more spells.

It was unexpectedly easy for him to perform magic, Harry noticed as he cast spell after spell. Soon enough random objects had started flying through the room, their course carefully directed by Harry. While eager to learn new spells, the book had warned him that trying to learn too much at once could have some serious consequences. Also it was better to practise with the spells he already knew so he got a better grip on their effects, since they'd become the eventual foundation of his spellweaving.

Light was already starting to brighten the eastern horizon by the time that Harry finally crawled into his bed, tired from an entire night spent performing spell after spell. Throwing a quick glance at his clock, he noticed that it was half past five. It wouldn't be until about ten that he was supposed to get up himself in order to make breakfast for his family.

Setting his alarm, he crawled under his blanket and promptly fell asleep.

His eyes shot open as the sound of his alarm tore through his bedroom. It was for times like this that he was happy to have one with such a shrill tone. Quickly giving the device a small smack to turn it off, he moved to get dressed. Since he had to use his alarm, there was little doubt that his uncle had also awoken, such was the intensity of the sound it generated. Knowing his, he moved with considerable speed in order to beat his uncle in getting downstairs first. He didn't want to give them any reason to warrant an even worse treatment.

"Then again", he thought with a grin on his face as he tucked his wand safely into his pocket, "what I'm about to do downstairs will probably freak him out as well".

All things considered though, watching Harry perform magic without any problems would make the man think twice before doing anything bad to his nephew. After all, if he could use magic to do chores, what else could he do with it. Perhaps complete Dudley's transformation into a pig.

Still, it would have the most effect if he was already doing magic by the time that Vernon got downstairs. With this in mind he bolted down the stairs and moved into the kitchen. Judging from the sound he heard coming from upstairs, he was well on time. His uncle had only just started shaving by the time he had reached the drawer with the kitchen utensils.

"This is going to be fun", Harry thought has he pulled his wand out of his pocket and, with a flick, caused the drawers and cupboards to fly open.

Vernon Dursley was not in a good mood. After a somewhat restless sleep caused by his son's incessant snoring he'd been jolted awake by the sound of the alarm clock of the little pest that was siphoning away a good amount of money that would be much better spent on his own son.

"I hope for his sake that breakfast is done by the time that I get downstairs", Vernon muttered as he stumbled into the bathroom, "Wizard or not, he can still get smacked around".

After he had finished applying the necessary personal hygiene he made sure that the rest of his family was awake as well, it simply wouldn't do for them to sleep in and miss breakfast. Despite what he said aloud, the boy actually made a pretty darn good breakfast. Not that he'd ever admit that Harry was good for anything but losing them money.

The stairs creaked loudly as he made his way downstairs and moved through the house. Appetizing smells were already making their way towards his nose and he grinned slightly, eager for both another decent meal and another chance to make his nephew feel bad. Ignoring him seemed to have an even greater effect on the child than he had thought. His morning was slowly starting to move from bad to somewhat good.

He was still in this strain of mind when he moved into the kitchen and was greeted by a vision that came straight out of one of his worst nightmares. Plates, forks, knives and several kinds of food were flying through the air and were making their way towards the table.

Standing in the middle of this was his nephew, happily waving a wand and apparently directing the horrifying scene.

"What in the world is going on here", he choked as his face reddened considerably. He slowly stepped into the kitchen, wary of the flying objects.

"Oh, good morning uncle Vernon", Harry replied happily, "I'm just making breakfast".

"But why is everything flying around like this".

The more time passed, the more the man seemed to get in a dire need of oxygen. At the rate he was going, it seemed that he was only moments away from hyperventilating.

A shrill scream broke his own fear though. Apparently Petunia had followed him together with Dudley.

He turned around and faced his wife, her face pale, in sharp contrast with Vernon's. Dudley on the other hand was trying to hide behind Petunia, not having forgotten about his run-in with Hagrid's spell, the pigtail being a constant reminder of that, not that he was having much success. As thin as Petunia was, her son was almost exactly the same as her husband in terms of physical build.

The interruption however seemed to shake Vernon out of his daze. He turned around, fuming.

"Stop this freakish business this instant boy!", he shouted as he stormed into the kitchen, ignoring the flying dishes.

Harry quickly shifted the movement of his wand and gently guided any objects away from Vernon's head. With a final flick, everything moved to their proper place, leaving the kitchen as if nothing had happened, beside the breakfast on the table.

"What's wrong uncle Vernon?", Harry asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He knew exactly what had ticked his uncle off.

"What's wrong you ask?", Vernon bellowed, "I wake up on a normal morning in a normal house, but when I come downstairs to enjoy a normal breakfast like any other normal person, I notice you doing all sorts of freakishly unnatural things with our food".

He moved forward as he said this, ready to grab a hold of Harry and teach him a decent lesson. He was stopped however when said nephew raised his wand slightly.

"Don't you dare point that thing at me", he grumbled as he eyed the wand in Harry's hand.

"I wasn't going to do anything uncle Vernon, I just realised that I forgot to put the milk on the table", Harry replied and with a smug grin on his face, flicked his wand, opening the fridge. Another wave and the milk flew out and placed itself on the table while the refrigerator door closed.

He turned his back on them and moved towards the table, seemingly oblivious to their stares.

"Of course, that's not the only thing I can do", he grinned as he sat down at the table and started eating a freshly made slice of toast.

His not so subtle warning didn't go unnoticed by Vernon, and the man wasn't stupid enough to ignore it. Slowly he too approached the table and took a close look at the food that was lying on it.

"There's nothing wrong with it, seriously", Harry smiled, "it's exactly the same as when I would make it by hand. I just used a bit of magic to simplify the process".

A loud growling shook Vernon out of his thought process. Instantly recognising the sound, he turned his head at Dudley who was currently looking at the food with a noticeable gleam in his eyes. The boy was hungry, and from the way Harry was eating the food, he was fairly sure that it wasn't poisoned or anything. He seriously doubted if the boy had the guts to do something like that, probably he hadn't even given it a thought.

"There had better not be anything wrong with it boy", he warned as he slowly sat down at the table, signalling his wife and son to join him.

After a meal that was tense to say the least, Harry stood up and pulled out his wand, earning him the amusement of seeing the Dursleys almost jump out of their skin.

"I'll make a deal with you", he smiled at them as he used a few well placed spells to make the dishes wash themselves, "I know you're not too happy about magic being used in this house. Sadly enough, I just can't help it since I'm a wizard. I need to let loose some of the magic, or otherwise some unexpected things might happen, as you might've noticed before".

He smiled inwardly as he noticed the horror struck looks on the Dursley's faces. It wasn't exactly true, but they'd noticed his small bouts of accidental magic before and weren't that keen to see them repeated but on an even grander scale.

"So I have this proposal. I will continue to do any and all chores you have for me, as long as I can use magic for them. Of course, I'll behave and I'll make sure that no one notices me using it".

He gave Vernon some time for the information to sink in, all the while directing the dishes and food around the kitchen.

"Fine", Vernon finally sighed after a long silence, "but there had better be no trouble you hear me? If you go even one bit of freakishness out of line I'll be waiting for you, and no amount of magic is going to save you. Is that understood?".

Harry nodded whilst keeping a neutral look on his face. Inwardly however he was cheering. The chores would give him the perfect chance to practise his magic and the Dursleys couldn't do anything about it since Vernon had just agreed with it.

As it was, the rest of the vacation only seemed to get better and better. While the Dursleys seemed to invent new chores every single day just to make Harry's life a living hell, he merely cheered at the thought of being told to do something. It wasn't that he was happy to clean or something in the like, but the different types of chores he had to do were constantly making him change his way of using spells. That and some logical thinking made some of them actually enjoyable. He had never imagined weeding the garden could take so little time when one could use magic. A simple 'Accio weeds' made every single weed in the garden tear itself out of the ground and fly into the bag Harry was holding open. This little show however made Petunia insanely jealous. She had never had been able to finish weeding the garden with so little effort and time needed. Silently she cursed her sister and her son.

As the days passed, Harry noticed a distinct change in the way the Dursleys behaved around him. While they had been extremely wary around him at first, it seemed that they were slowly getting used to Harry using magic around them. At least they didn't jump in fear anymore every time he cast a spell. That didn't mean they accepted it easily though. More often than not he'd noticed the looks of disgust on their faces when he was busy doing a random chore, using magic all the time.

Of course, performing magic almost nonstop did take its toll. His appetite had risen tremendously and he noticed that he was dead tired every single evening, falling asleep like a log the moment his head hit the pillow.

After consulting the book about it, he found out that magic was a lot like a person's muscles. The more you practised it, the better you got at it and the longer you could perform spells. It was a lot like running long distances. Only over time did one improve his stamina enough to be able to run a marathon. He'd found that out himself after running away from Dudley and his gang long enough.

Soon enough, the first of September came along, the day on which Harry would finally be starting his education as a wizard. He'd been looking forward to it. It didn't really matter that his abilities had been jumpstarted by the discovery of the Weaver's Diary. He didn't really have a doubt that while he was already quite proficient with a number of spells, having teachers would prove to be even more fun and effective than teaching himself.

He woke up early that day, a lot earlier than normal. Throwing a look at his clock, he noticed that it was around half past five, in about an hour and a half he'd be on his way towards platform nine and three-quarters. Suddenly a thought entered his mind. Where was the platform? He knew King's Cross station, but seriously doubted that it would be easily noticeable. Quickly he dove into his trunk and started digging for the Weaver's Diary. After a couple of minutes, he managed to scoop it up from the bottom of his trunk.

"Platform nine and three-quarters", he stated at the blank pages. Relief flooded his mind as several subjects appeared in the book.

After a bit of searching for the right entry, he found out that the platform was located in between the muggle platforms nine and ten. All you had to do was walk through one of the pillars between them.

"Hmmm, now I know how to get onto the platform, but it doesn't say which pillar it is", he muttered as he leafed through the book in search for more information.

"Argh, this is useless", he growled in frustration after he'd read everything he could find, "Well, I can always go and test out every pillar one by one".

Satisfied with his solution to the problem, Harry quickly packed his trunk again, though this time he put his book in one of the pockets of his coat. He never knew when he might need it again, and it wasn't exactly handy to go and mess up his trunk every time he did.

"Are you ready yet boy", Vernon's voice sounded through the door, "We need to go if we want to make it in time for Dudley's appointment".

Harry sighed, while he had been able to convince his uncle to drop him off at King's Cross, it was only because of Dudley's little problem on his rear that they had accepted. As luck would have it they had made an appointment for plastic surgery to remove the pigtail. Harry didn't really care, he was happy enough to be able to get to the station, no matter what the reason. Even if he could, he didn't like to threaten his only remaining family into doing something. With another deep sigh, he levitated his trunk and moved to the door of his room.

"Finally you're out", Vernon grumbled as the door opened, "can't you simply magic your way to that school?"

"I'm sorry uncle Vernon, I'm not that advanced yet", Harry replied. He grinned as he saw Vernon's shudder, the man still wasn't used to people being able to do magic around him. The fact that Harry would soon be able to do even more of those freakish things thoroughly grossed him out. Nevertheless, the prospect of not having to see him for almost an entire year lightened his spirits. He'd simply have to put up with the little bit of freakishness that would occur during the time they travelled to King's Cross. It was a small price to pay.

Vernon's smile grew wide as they approached the station. While he had been looking forward to getting rid of his nephew, it was so much more satisfying when he could do so in a humiliating manner.

"There were are", he sneered, "your platform should be around here somewhere, but sadly enough I don't see it anywhere".

"That's because non-magical people can't see it", came Harry's reply, "I know exactly where it is, so if you don't mind, I'll be off now".

Turning quickly, he left his uncle standing on the platform, baffled. While he had been able to get some satisfaction of crushing his uncle's hopes of humiliating him when they dropped him off, he didn't want to wait for that fact to trickle down into his skull. He knew that Vernon didn't like it when people made a fool out of him.

As he quickly moved through the crowd, he kept a close eye on the pillars between the platforms nine and ten. Watching for people that might be walking into them.

Just as he was about to give up and try the pillars one by one, he heard a woman's voice. While this alone wouldn't exactly draw his attention, he could distinguish one word which made him turn his head towards the woman.

"Packed with muggles", the woman said as she hustled through the station, clearing the way for what appeared to be the rest of her family. It wasn't exactly hard to recognise the fact that they were all related. No one could have that hair colour and not be part of the same family.

"Now where is the station entrance again", the woman muttered as she moved through the crowd.

"How could you possibly forget mom, even I remember that it's the third pillar when you're coming from the stairs, and I'm not even allowed to go yet", a small redheaded girl spoke up. She had been holding her mother's hand earlier on, but had pulled free when the pillar in question came into view.

"Well Ginny, it's a bit hard to recognise a specific place in this station", she replied, "but come now, we've lost enough time as it is".

Obeying their mother's command, the boys of the family started moving through the barrier one by one. Harry blinked, had he not known about the barrier and the gateway to platform nine and three-quarters, he thought he'd gone insane by now.

Slowly, he started moving towards the pillar, unaware that his presence had caught the eye of the mother of the redheads.

"Oh hello there dear", she spoke up at Harry, "Are you going to Hogwarts as well?"

Harry's face shot up to look at the woman's voice. He'd never heard someone speak to him with that much kindness. All he had ever heard was shouting, insults and whatever the Dursleys could throw at him. The only ones that showed him a bit of kindness were his teachers he had during his education as a muggle, and even they had been corrupted in a certain amount by the rumours Vernon had spread about him.

"Yes..., yes I am", he stammered, shocked by the kind look on her face.

"Do you know how to get to the platform?", she asked in the same kind voice.

Harry simply nodded in response.

"Well then get going", she smiled as she gave him a gentle nudge.

Following her advice, Harry started moving forward. He eventually broke into a slight run as he drew closer to the barrier, only to crash straight into a muggle that had crossed his path.

"Can't you look out", the man grumbled as he quickly righted his tie and moved on, leaving Harry lying on the platform, his trunk halfway open and various items spilling out of it. Meanwhile Hedwig was drawing a bit of attention with her anxious cries. She'd been sleeping a bit during the voyage, and being awoken in such a rude manner didn't exactly help brighten her mood.

"Oh dear, oh dear", she woman sighed as she quickly moved to Harry's side and started helping him with repacking his trunk.

Harry moved to help her as both the mother and daughter started throwing in various items back into the case.

"I'm Molly by the way, Molly Weasley", the woman introduced herself to him, "and this is my daughter, Ginny".

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harry", he replied, giving a small nod in response while he picked up a couple of phials that had rolled out onto the platform.

He consciously didn't give them his last name. He'd seen the reactions of people when they found out that he was the Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived. Given the fact that he'd just met people that were nice to him without any apparent reason, he'd rather keep up the charade for a little longer and get along with them. The knowing smile Molly gave him though did ring a bell.

"She knows", he thought, "but why isn't she saying anything about it?"

Without really noticing it, he stopped packing as he sank deep into thought about what had just happened. Here was someone who obviously knew who he was, yet she didn't act any different.

"Harry?", the girl's voice broke him out of his pondering, "are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine", he replied. Taking one look at her, he knew for a fact that while the mother was having no apparent reaction to his true identity, it wouldn't be the same with the daughter. Still, it wouldn't exactly do for them to help him without being properly thanked for it.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny", he smiled at them while he closed his trunk, the lock falling into place with an audible click.

"Think nothing of it dear", Molly smiled at him before gesturing towards the barrier, "we better get going Harry. Otherwise you might miss the train".

Harry nodded, taking a look at the clock that was hanging from the ceiling in the station, he could see that he had only about five more minutes to get on the train. He moved forward, pushing the trolley carrying his stuff ahead of him and moved through the barrier. He knew enough about magic to know that things like passing through solid walls or making them disappear were completely possible.

The sight that greeted him was nothing like he'd imagined. He had been wondering about how the wizards would travel from London to Hogwarts. While the ticket telling him to go to platform nine and three-quarters did shed some light on that, it still didn't guarantee that they would be using a train. For all he knew there could be giant brooms to fly them to school, or perhaps even big magical portals.

Even so, the sight of the red steam engine was one that took his breath away. He hadn't seen that many trains in his life, let alone one like the Hogwarts Express.

As he stood there gaping at the wizarding platform and the people bustling all around he was caught completely unaware when suddenly Ginny came running through the barrier and crashed straight into him, sending them both to the floor.

"Ouch", she said as she slowly crawled to her knees, "why didn't you move away from the barrier?"

She scowled a bit as she looked at Harry.

"Sorry, I was just a bit overwhelmed by the sight of the station".

Almost immediately a smile came over her face.

"It's amazing isn't it? My brothers tell me Hogwarts is even more impressive than this", she grinned, the earlier collision already forgotten, "but come on, we better move it before my mom stumbles over us".

Following Ginny's logic, he quickly got up and moved out of the way. They had only just moved away before Molly came hurrying through the barrier and quickly started looking around for the rest of her children.

"Fred, George", she shouted as she spotted two other redheads standing next to a boy with dreadlocks, "come here for a minute and give little Harry here a hand with getting his trunk onto the train".

Harry opened his mouth to try and tell her that it wasn't necessary. He could get his trunk onto the train by himself without any problem. His attempt however was interrupted by Ginny's startled voice.

"So this is how you knew how to get through the barrier", she squealed happily as she started leafing through the pages of a little tome bound in crimson leather, "Hey, this book is incredibly handy, where did you get it?".

He froze for a few seconds before jabbing his hand into the pocket where he'd kept the book. It wasn't there.

"It must've fallen out of my pocket when she ran into me", he thought, just before another realisation came over him.

Harry looked incredulously at her, stunned by the fact that she could read the book when it had clearly stated that no one but himself or another weaver could read it. That specific thought however made something fall into place in his mind.

"Wait a minute, no one else but another weaver can read that book", he thought, "that must mean ...".

Acting quickly, he moved towards the girl and ushered her into a small niche in the wall, ignoring her startled squeak. As soon as he was satisfied that they were completely hidden from view, he spoke up to her.

"Ginny, you can read this book?"

"Of course I can, why shouldn't I be able to read a book?"

Just as Harry was about to explain to her that she was a weaver, the whistle on the Hogwarts Express let out a shrill sound, signifying that it was about to depart. He had wanted to tell her more, but there simply wasn't enough time.

"Listen Ginny, that is a very special book. I don't have enough time to explain it all to you, but if there is a way to communicate while I'm at school I promise I'll tell you everything I can", he said as he moved out of the niche and back towards the trolley with Hedwig on it. The two Weasley's had already started dragging his trunk towards the train.

"That's your owl right?", she asked, pointing towards his snowy white owl.

"Yeah, her name is Hedwig", he replied, picking up the cage and moving towards Fred and George.

"Well then you can simply write a letter and tell her to deliver it to me. Just tell her it's for Ginny Weasley at the Burrow".

"Ok Ginny, I'll write to you later then", he smiled at her briefly before his look turned a bit more serious, "but don't tell anyone about that book alright?".

She nodded in response, having quickly caught up to the severity of his words. Even she knew that most wizards usually had a few items that no one else knew about, to use as a trump card. Right now she knew about one of Harry's secret items. As such, she promised herself never to speak about it again, except with Harry. Her Weasley nature didn't allow anything else.

"I promise Harry", she smiled, "but what's your full name? I sort of need to know it if I want to send a message to you when Hedwig is unavailable".

Harry had just stepped onto the train when he heard her question. He'd just gestured to the Fred and George, or George and Fred, he couldn't exactly figure out who was who, where to place his trunk. He turned around, staring straight into Ginny's brown eyes. Just at the moment that he wanted to reply to her, the steam whistle on the train let out another ear-splitting shriek, completely overpowering the sound of his voice.

Noticing one of the teachers coming over and closing all the doors on the train, he was left with no other option. He leaned forward slightly, raising his hair so that his scar became visible.

Ginny froze as she noticed Harry push up his hair and reveal a marking that was known throughout the wizarding world. Within an instant she had realised who exactly she had been talking to all this time. Why hadn't she figured it out beforehand, there weren't that many people called Harry in the wizarding world, especially not his age.

Too late she realised that the teacher had already gone and closed the door, ushering Harry into the train. She blushed brightly as she realised that she'd just been talking to the Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, and the boy-who-Ginny-Weasley-had-a-crush-on.

"Mom", she shouted as she turned around and bolted towards her mother, "did you know who Harry really was?"

Molly smiled as she watched her overexcited daughter run towards her, a bright blush on her face. It appeared to her that she had just found out that she'd been talking to her childhood crush. She sighed contently as she reminisced about the numerous times that she'd been asked by her daughter to tell her the story about the boy-who-lived. She did realise however that she had to calm her daughter down a bit. While she didn't really mind her having a crush on someone, it simply wouldn't do if she considered that person to be something he probably wasn't. She'd heard about Harry from Dumbledore, and about him living with some non-magical relatives. The poor child probably didn't like all the attention.

"Now now Ginny, calm down dear", she told her daughter in a mild, yet stern voice, "I knew from the beginning that the little lad was Harry Potter".

"Then why didn't you tell me mom?"

"Ginny, would it have made a difference whether or not you knew his name or not? It seemed to that you got along perfectly fine before you knew who he really was".

"Yeah mom, but he's Harry Potter, I mean, the Harry Potter".

"Then tell me Ginny, would you have behaved differently had you known his name from the beginning?"

"Of course mom, I mean, this is Harry Potter we're talking about".

Molly sighed deeply, this was harder than she had thought. Apparently her daughter's crush ran a bit deeper than she had thought.

"Ginny, please think for a moment. If you'd known his name from the beginning, you would've behaved completely different from the usual you. This wouldn't have been a good start to a friendship between the two of you. That and he'd probably shy away from anyone that treats him any different just because something happened that he didn't have any control over".

Ginny's shoulders visibly sagged as she realised that her mother was right. Harry probably wouldn't have been so friendly with her if she'd become a fangirl just by getting to know his name. He'd been so kind to her even if he didn't really know her, though the situation with the book still made her confused. She didn't really give it much more thought though. Harry had promised her that he'd talk to her about it via owl, and somehow she just knew that he wouldn't break that promise, unlike her brothers. That, and the train was starting to move. Quickly she ran from window to window, trying to find the compartment in which Harry was sitting.

Harry was still wondering about Ginny's reaction to finding out his name while he walked through the train, following the Weasley twins who were still carrying his trunk. Her own reaction had been a bit different from the one that people usually had when they learned his name. He hadn't expected her to blush like that, still he hoped that she would get over having such a reaction in the future. He really didn't like it when people stared at him simply for having a scar on his forehead. He'd actually felt threatened the time he'd been approached by all those people in the Leaky Cauldron. If it hadn't been for Hagrid's presence, he probably would've run straight out the door.

"Here's a free compartment mate", one of the twins spoke up, "our little brother Ron is in here already but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, just make sure you don't get between him and his food".

"I heard that Fred", Ron's voice sounded from inside the compartment.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, you call yourself our brother?"

"Yeah, whatever, no one but the two of you know who is who", Ron muttered.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he saw the twins bicker a bit with their younger brother. Harry didn't really mind sitting in a compartment with someone else, especially not a Weasley. So far, every single one of them had been kind, fun and simply a good person all around. Instantly he decided that he'd try to become friends with the entire lot of them. It was one of the first times that anyone had been kind to him, and they did it without even knowing who he really was.

"You better watch out for them", Ron warned him as Harry stepped into the compartment after the twins had put his trunk away in one of the corners.

"Why is that Ron?", Harry asked. So far the two of them seemed trustworthy enough.

"It's because they're known as the most devious pranksters currently present at Hogwarts, that's why. You better check your trunk very carefully when we get there, you never know what they might've done with it".

"Hey Ronniekins, quit messing up our reputation would you?", Fred muttered from outside the compartment.

"What, that's exactly what you guys are"

"Wrong you are", George smiled from on the hallway.

"We are --"

"The most devious --"

"The most infamous --"

"The most mischievous --"

"Pranksters Hogwarts has ever known", they chorused.

"Yeah yeah, just look out for them mate, they'd turn you into a toad in the time it takes you to blink"

"Come on now Ron", Fred grinned, "he wouldn't even have the time to blink for something like that. See you guys later, we're off to go check if the rumour of Lee having a tarantula is true".

With that, the twins closed the door to the compartment and left to go and find their own.

"Finally they're gone", Ron sighed, "I'm Ron Weasley".

He stuck his hand out, a wide smile on his face.

"I know", Harry smiled as he shook Ron's outstretched hand, "you're Ginny's brother aren't you?"

"Yeah, but she's still too young to be allowed to go to Hogwarts".

"Too bad actually, she's fun to be around", Harry grinned, "I'm Harry Potter by the way".

Ron's reaction was decidedly different from Ginny's, but still a bit similar to the one of the people in the Leaky Cauldron.

"No way", Ron breathed just before he started gaping at Harry.

Deciding to nip any discussion about his true identity in the bud, he lifted up his hair a bit and showed Ron his scar. While it did have the desired effect of convincing Ron that he was indeed Harry Potter, it also made him gape even more.

"Please Ron, I'm just a kid like you. This scar doesn't really make me different from anyone else", Harry sighed. He was hoping that he could convince Ron to ignore the legendary status he'd been given by the rest of the wizarding world.

"If you say so", Ron said after he finally broke out of his reverie, "can I ask you a question though?".

"Just as long as it isn't about how I got this scar or anything", Harry replied solemnly, "I don't even know anything about it myself, just a lot of green light and that's it".

"I see", Ron said as he slumped into his seat. He'd been poised to ask a couple of questions about what had happened, but apparently Harry didn't really like that sort of questions.

Silence fell over the two of them, until the train started moving. Ron quickly opened one of the windows and started waving at his family.

"Bye mom, bye Ginny", he shouted as he almost frantically swung his arm.

Deciding to follow Ron's example, Harry too stuck his head out of the window and started waving. It wasn't exactly polite of him not to say goodbye to some of the few people that had been kind to him.

He didn't exactly have any trouble spotting them as he watched at the crowd assembled on the platform.

"Bye Mrs. Weasley, bye Ginny", he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ginny jumped as she heard her name being called by a familiar voice mere moments after she'd heard Ron call out for her, she'd been too occupied with going over every single compartment to pay attention to it, yet when she heard the second voice call out to her, she turned her head so quickly that she could actually hear something crack in her neck.

Her heart skipped a few beats when she noticed that Harry was leaning out of a window, the same one that her brother was using to say his goodbyes.

Wasting not a single moment, she raced towards them, trying to catch up with the train that was ever gaining speed.

"Bye Harry, bye Ron", she yelled after them as she was forced to stop at the end of the platform. A few tears leaked out of her eyes as the sudden realisation that both her brothers and her, hopefully, new friend had left for Hogwarts to attend school. It wouldn't be until Christmas that here brothers would be back to spend the holidays with their family.

"Wait a minute, perhaps Harry could spend Christmas with us", she thought to herself. As the train slowly moved out of sight, she turned around and ran back to her mother, a noticeable spring in her step. She'd do everything to convince her mother to let Harry stay at the Burrow that Christmas.

With a smile, Harry watched as Ginny raced after the train, waving wildly at both him and her brother. He also noticed that the startled, star-struck Ginny of a mere moments earlier had almost completely vanished, a slight pink tinge on her cheeks the only reminder. Quickly casting a look at Molly, he caught her eye just as she winked and returned a knowing look. Apparently she had succeeded in converting Ginny back to her old self. Still, he couldn't exactly say what that old self was. After all, one didn't quite know a person after only talking to her for about five minutes.

"So", Harry said as they had cleared the station, "do you happen to know a few magic spells?"

It might not have been the most original of questions, but he had found that with the discovery of the Weaver's Diary, he'd developed somewhat of an appetite of sorts for new spells. It wasn't because they granted him a new ability or anything, most of the time he could adjust some of the few spells he already knew to suit his needs, it was simply because of the fact that each and every new spell he cast showed him a different pattern of how it had been woven together, he simply found the way the magic flowed and how it was intertwined to be fascinating.

"Well, children aren't exactly supposed to do magic at home, but Fred and George taught me this one spell to turn my pet rat Scabbers yellow. I haven't tried it yet though", he replied sheepishly.

"Well then try it out, we're allowed to do magic on the train right?", Harry grinned.

"Not exactly, but they don't mind", Ron mirrored Harry's grin as he pulled both a battered looking wand and a scruffy looking rat out of his pockets.

"Here goes nothing", he said as he pointed his wand at the rat and started the spell, "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow".

He finished with a small wave of his wand, yet nothing happened.

"Oh bugger", Ron muttered as he noticed the failure of his spell, "I knew that it was just a joke by Fred and George. What about you Harry, do you know any spells?"

Ron looked up at Harry, only to see that he was still staring at Ron's wand.

"Hey, you alright mate?", Ron asked, curious as to why Harry had become so quiet, "I didn't cast a spell on you did I".

"No Ron, there's nothing wrong, but I think I might've figured out what's wrong with the spell", he replied as he carefully reviewed the magical structure he'd seen only moments before.

"Seriously? What's wrong with it then?"

"Here, let me", Harry told him as he pulled out his own wand and pointed it at the rat that was sleeping on Ron's lap.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow", he said as he waved his wand, but added a significant curling motion at the end of the wave.

With a bright flash, Scabbers turned a bright yellow as it jumped upright and started shrieking, clearly startled by the sudden change in its wardrobe. Within moments it had dived into Ron's trunk and hidden beneath some of his robes.

"Wicked", Ron grinned widely as he watched his rat scurry off, "but how did you know to change the wand motion like that Harry?"

Harry was caught unaware by the question. He quickly looked Ron straight in the face and started putting together an excuse.

"Oh, I knew it because I've read about colour changing charms in one of the books I bought when I was in Diagon Alley"

"Oh, I thought that they weren't covered in our curriculum yet, but then again I never really read the books so I can't tell".

"They aren't covered in any of our obligatory books, I just bought a few more books than were on the list. I needed something to do while I was at my relatives' place so I just read them all", Harry shrugged. He didn't exactly like the fact that he had to lie so quickly to one of his newfound friends, but the book had warned him not to be open with his abilities to just anyone, and he still didn't know Ron well enough to trust him completely. While he seemed nice enough at first, and he was family of both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, he'd been tricked before, though that was always the handiwork of Dudley and his gang.

"Oh, I see. So you grew up with muggle relatives?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't exactly nice living there", Harry replied with a slight shudder.

"I'll say", Ron replied, much to Harry's surprise. He'd supposed that everyone in his family was magical.

"I mean, how can people survive without magic, it's so hard to believe", the red haired boy finished his sentence, leaving Harry sighing again. He'd jumped to conclusions. Of course everyone in the Weasley family was magical.

They continued the rest of the journey chatting about everyday topics, with sometimes the performance of a spell mixed in. Ron didn't seem annoyed in the least that Harry was able to perform, what he thought were quite advanced spells. Instead he seemed impressed at Harry's proficiency.

They were interrupted a few times though, one time by a kind looking old lady pushing a cart stashed with a huge assortment of what seemed like candy. Eager to get something in his stomach, Harry bought several kinds and moved back into the compartment.

The other time was by a chubby looking boy named Neville Longbottom in search of his toad. Much to his disappointment the only think Harry and Ron could tell him was that they hadn't seen a toad hopping around, only chocolate frogs.

It wasn't until the third time that they were interrupted that things got relatively interesting again. This time it was a girl with bushy brown hair. She'd already changed into her Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen the toad of a boy named Neville?", she asked the two occupants of the compartment.

"Sorry, he already came past here, but we haven't seen anything", Harry replied, just before he noticed that one of the chocolate frogs was about to jump out of the window.

"Accio chocolate frog", he said quickly as he pointed his wand at the errant frog, the spell causing it to fly straight at Harry who nimbly caught it with his free hand. He wasted no time in munching the frog as soon as he had a decent hold of the squirming chocolate figure. He was too preoccupied to notice the wide-eyed looks of both Ron and the bushy haired witch.

"That was a fourth year spell", she breathed finally, causing Harry to look up, a single leg of the frog still twitching lightly as it stuck from between his lips.

"Is it?", he asked her as soon as he had swallowed every last bit of chocolate and had his mouth free again.

Ron nodded as he too stared at Harry with an incredulous look on his face.

"Just what kind of books did you buy Harry?", he asked as he studied his friend closely.

"I just picked a few random books out that had some interesting titles, but I left them at home because I won't really need them during the year anyway", Harry smiled. Again he had been forced to lie, not something he wanted to do much more in the future. He would have to watch out with his spells a lot more in the future, who could know what the level of his next spell would be.

"Well I certainly would like to take a look at them", the girl said excitedly, "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way".

"Ron Weasley", Ron introduced himself.

"Harry Potter"

"Seriously?", she asked him, but didn't give him the chance to reply, "I figured you'd have to be him actually. It somewhat explains the fact that you could do such a spell when you're still in your first year. I read in 'Modern Magical History' that you would have to be immensely powerful to defeat you-know-who".

"You mean Voldemort?", Harry asked, wondering slightly why Ron seemed to shy away at the mention of the name, "well, I wouldn't know actually. I can't even recall anything about it".

"Well that's quite natural actually, I mean, how many people remember things about the time when they were only a year old", Hermione continued, "but enough about that, what other spells do you know? Can you show me?"

"Sure, Harry smiled at her and gestured for her to enter"

Harry showed her several of the spells he had shown Ron before. Since Ron hadn't really given a reaction other than the standard wicked, he assumed that they were indeed quite basic and thus safe to show to Hermione.

As it was, it took him nearly an hour to sate Hermione's innate curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Only then did she stand up and got out of the compartment, mumbling something about a forgotten promise to find Trevor, whoever that might be.

"Bye Harry, Bye Ron", she smiled back at the two boys before she started making her way through the train again, unaware of a pale looking blonde boy that had just come out of a nearby compartment.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Right, a little shorter than last time, but it was either this, or wait for at least an entire day, so I chose this. Besides, it's also a good place to finish up the chapter.

'Neways, for those that are wondering what took me so long, it's because of my internship (school). I never would've imagined that it would be this tough. But still, I'll try to roll out the next chapter a bit sooner.

Also, for those interested, I've added a tracker thingy to my profile page. So if you're curious as to when the next chapter it going to come out, just look over there to see how many words I've already written for that particular chapter.

There, I've said what I wanted to say, all that's left now if for you to read the chapter, possibly tell me what you think of it, and enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Draco Malfoy was a proud wizard from a long line of noble purebloods. His own father was well known in the ministry's high circles. As such, he had access to some rather sensitive information at times. Needless to say that Draco usually got to know those things as well.

One of the things that he had gotten to know, was the acceptance of none other than the boy-who-lived into Hogwarts.

Draco had grinned wickedly when he'd heard the news, taking only seconds to come to the same conclusion that his father had. The boy had been touched by the dark lord early in his life, so there was a very good chance that his future had been influenced by that. There had never before been a case of someone surviving the killing curse, one of the most powerful dark spells in existence. There was no telling what the effects were.

If Draco could succeed in becoming friends with Harry Potter early on, there was a chance that he would get sorted into Slytherin. It would also gain both himself and his father a powerful ally. After all, the Potter family was renowned for its wealth, and Harry was the only one left.

He also knew that Harry had spent his childhood with some muggles, and apparently they weren't too friendly. This of course should have made him have a firm belief that all the muggles in the world were bad, and as a result, witches and wizards born from them should be bad too. Not that you'd expect anything else from those filthy mudbloods.

Still, even being the mighty pureblood he was, it still took him considerable time to find the compartment in which the boy-who-lived was sitting, it was the one right next to his own. He'd sent out Crabbe and Goyle to search for him but predictably, they'd probably been distracted by a random trail of sweets left behind by some stupid mudblood. It was only when he decided to come out of his own compartment to go to the toilet that he noticed one of the mudblood witches step out onto the hallway and say goodbye to a certain Harry and Ron.

He fumed as he heard this. He knew every single wizard and witch that was in the first year. His father had made sure of that, so that he could scout out possible recruits. Crabbe and Goyle were obvious choices, but it could be handy if he was able to convert some of the purebloods to their cause.

That the mudblood Granger had just stepped out of the compartment where Harry Potter was sitting could be considered to be an insult of the highest order. The fact that he was sitting there with a Weasley made things only worse.

"Bloody filthy mudbloods and blood traitors", he cursed as he raced down the train in search of his two bodyguards.

It didn't exactly take him long to find them, you only had to follow the dumb laughs that accompanied the terrified shrieks of some helpless little mudblood.

"Crabbe, Goyle. Follow me, there's work to do", he barked as he looked with disdain at their victim. They'd just taken every last bit of candy the little witch had and simply stuffed in their mouths.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway, he quickly gestured for them to follow him and moved back through the train.

"So Harry, you still going to try out the rest of those Every Flavour Beans?", Ron asked minutes after they'd both gotten an awful taste of why they were called 'Every Flavour'.

"After getting a mouthful of grass? No thanks", Harry replied sourly as he tried to wash away the foul taste with some pumpkin juice that Ron had brought along for with his long forgotten sandwiches.

"Well at least you didn't get dung as a flavour", Ron muttered, taking back the bottle of juice and completely emptying it.

"You have my sympathies Ron", Harry grinned as he tossed the bag with beans onto the seat next to him. He vowed that he would never eat them again, at least not without having someone tasting them beforehand.

Before they could begin doing something else though, the door to their compartment flew open, again.

"I heard that Harry Potter is in this compartment", Draco Malfoy grinned as he looked down upon the only two people seated in it.

"I take it that it isn't you", he sneered as he took a pointed look at Ron, "there's only one poor family in the entire wizarding world that has that hair colour, the Weasels. Of course that poor isn't meant as sympathy"

Harry narrowed his eyes as he recognised the boy that was currently trying to downgrade his newfound friend. He'd seen him before in Diagon Alley, at Madam Malkin's.

"So that leaves only you", Draco continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Ron was currently red with anger about the insult he'd just received, "I'm Draco Malfoy, and these are Crabbe and Goyle"

Harry noticed Ron's increasing anger and steadily decreasing self-control and quickly motioned him to calm down. It wouldn't do for him to start a fistfight so early in the year.

"So what if I am Harry Potter?", he said to Draco.

"I was just saying that you might want to decide wisely with whom you become friends Harry", Draco continued, "I mean, there are obviously better choices than this poor excuse for a wizard"

At this Draco pointed at Ron again, completely trusting the presence of Crabbe and Goyle at his side to negate any possible attacks that he might receive. The only thing he had to be scared of with the two of them at his side was a magical attack, but with one of the two occupant being a Weasel and the other raised by muggles, he seriously doubted that there would be anything of that sort directed towards him.

"Ron, calm down", Harry whispered at the now furious redhead, "I'll handle this"

Ron seemed to calm down a bit after this but was still looking at Malfoy with pure malice in his eyes.

"If looks could kill", Harry thought as he quickly started formulating a plan in his mind.

"Seriously Harry, I'm offering you a much better friendship than the Weasel could ever give you", Draco smiled while he put out his hand.

"Gee, I honestly don't remember allowing you to call me by my first name 'Malfoy', but since you're offering something, of course my wizarding courtesy obliges me to offer something in return", Harry smiled back at Malfoy, though his voice had a certain vindictiveness to it, "how about I offer you some 'Every Flavour Beans' "

At this, Harry casually picked up the bag of candy from the seat next to him and held it out in front of him. He'd noticed the hungry looks Crabbe and Goyle were giving the candy that was still strewn around their compartment.

"Are you playing me for a fool Potter?", Draco hissed as he watched Harry's actions with disbelief in his eyes. No one made a fool out of a Malfoy like that.

Just as he was about to order Crabbe and Goyle to beat some sense in him, he noticed something that was quite disturbing.

While Malfoy had been seething a bit, Harry had casually drawn his wand out of one of his pockets before pointing it straight at the bag of candy.

"Depulso candy", he said calmly while he kept a tight hold on the bag holding the beans.

Draco's eyes widened almost comically as he recognised the spell being used by Harry. His mind had barely comprehended the significance of his discovery, right before it registered that while Harry had just banished the candy, he was still keeping a tight hold on the bag.

With considerable force, the bag burst open as the candy tried to move away from Harry. The end result was something that could probably be compared the best to a muggle shotgun firing from point blank range, only less lethal. Still, the force of the multitude of pellets impacting the three unwelcome guests in Harry's compartment was more than enough to drive them out onto the hallway. They howled in pain as they impacted none too gently with the floor.

"So, how did you like my offer Malfoy?", Harry asked casually as he stood at the door, looking down upon the first three victims of his magic.

"Just a word of warning", he continued, "I can smell someone with a rotten personality from miles away. After all, I've been meeting them my entire life. You're just the last one in a long line of people that have tried to gain my trust for personal gain. Ron and his family never had that in mind when they helped me on the platform, they didn't even know who I was. So I can easily see who the better friend is"

With those words, he slammed the door shut and moved back to his seat.

"Wicked", Ron grinned as he saw Harry sit down again, "I've never heard of a banishing charm being used that way"

"It's just some logical thinking actually", Harry shrugged, "most spells can be used for offense or defence if you use them in a particular way"

"Still, that was really nice to see", Ron smiled before his voice turned a bit more serious, "but you should watch out around him Harry, I've heard stories about that family. They're dark wizards, of the worst kind, or at least my dad says they are. They were part of You-Know-Who's gang when he was at the height of his power. They claimed they'd been bewitched when he fell though, not that I'd believe a word they say.

Right at that moment, their door was opened by Hermione.

"Did you guys make this mess?", she asked them.

"Technically, Malfoy did", Harry smiled sheepishly, "I offered him some candy and he just had to go and spill it on the floor"

Hermione wasn't convinced.

"You better hurry and clean up this mess, I heard that one of the prefects is headed this way", she added quickly. She'd taken a bit of a liking to the two boys, mostly because one of them appeared to like books and knowledge as much as she did. Or at least, so she thought. Little did she know that Harry liked only one book in particular, the one that had taught him most of the things he knew.

"Oh, and you might want to get dressed, we're almost there"

With this, Hermione left in order to give the boys some privacy, and to get out of the way of a possible angry prefect. While she did like the boys, it wasn't enough to volunteer for some possible cleanup duty just because she was standing next to the culprits.

"Sheesh", Ron muttered as he watched the bushy haired witch leave, "talk about bossy, she's almost like my mom".

"She's not too bad", Harry grinned, "at least she warned us about that prefect that might've come and breathe down our necks"

"Merlin, my brother Percy's a prefect", Ron gasped, "come on, we have to get this cleaned up right away. Otherwise he might tell mom about it"

Within moments Ron had become a blur that was moving across the floor, desperately trying to pick up as many beans as he could.

Taking into account Ron's reaction at remembering that his brother was a prefect, Harry decided that it would be wise not to let him see the mess they'd made.

Quickly, he took his wand and started casting spells as fast as he could, first getting all of the candy into their own compartment before moving several beans towards the dustbin at once. While Accio would no doubt summon every single bean towards him, it would result only in him receiving the same kind of punishment he'd given Malfoy, so he was forced to use a somewhat less effective way of levitating groups of candy and moving them around.

They had just finished cleaning up the floor when the door of their compartment burst open, revealing an almost steaming Percy.

"Ronald", he almost shouted, "what is it that I heard went down here?"

"What do you mean Percy?", Ron asked as he stared straight at his brother, furiously trying to prevent his ears from changing colour, thus giving him away.

"I heard that you've been fighting, something about covering a few other students with candy"

"I didn't do anything", Ron smiled. He wasn't lying to his brother. It had been Harry that had taken care of Malfoy in such a satisfying manner. The mere memory of the fact almost made him wish that he'd been the one to do so.

"We'll see", Percy looked suspiciously at his younger brother, giving him one last stare before moving off. On the inside though, he was almost seething. He'd heard from a few other first years that they'd been violently attacked by his brother and Harry Potter, littering the hallway with candy in the process. While Percy wasn't exactly keen on having to punish his younger brother, his duties as a prefect demanded no less than complete neutrality in such cases.

While it had been faint, he'd noticed a slight blush on the tips of Ron's ears. It was almost a certainty that, while he didn't do it himself, he knew about who did. Still, the lack of candy on the floor was not a good thing. Given the time that had passed between the reported 'attack' and his arrival, there was simply no way that Ron and his new friend could've cleaned up an entire bag of 'Every Flavour Beans' in time. Still, there was no candy, so he had been forced to let it go. Before he could punish anyone, there had to be decisive evidence. Any lack of it simply wouldn't do. It wouldn't be right for the accused.

"That was close", Ron breathed as he watched his brother leave. They'd finished putting the last beans in the dustbin mere seconds before his brother had stormed in.

"Too close", Harry agreed before taking a look out the window.

"We better go and get dressed", he suggested as he noticed the change in scenery. The train was gradually beginning to slow down, another indication that they'd almost reached their destination.

Not wasting any more time, they got their school robes out of their trunks and got dressed. They weren't exactly eager to make themselves look like fools by making everyone else wait while they dressed. Either that or they would have to parade around the school in muggle clothing.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately", a voice echoed through the train, startling both Ron and Harry. Both of them, together with most of the first years were starting to feel the nerves climb gradually. None of them had seen Hogwarts before and didn't know what to expect. Asking the older students about it didn't seem to help either. It appeared as they had some sort of unspoken agreement to let the first years wait in anticipation.

They moved onto the corridor as the train slowly came to a halt, the final jolt momentarily unbalancing them.

"Come on now", a familiar voice called out, "please move out of the train and onto the platform"

Percy was busy herding the first years out of the train, as always fulfilling his prefect duties, unlike some of the more lazy Slytherins. While he didn't really care about the house rivalry, he wasn't too keen on those that didn't do their duty.

"Your luggage will be brought up to the school separately", he repeated as he struggled a bit to get a few nervous muggleborns off the train. They were still new to all of this, so he was sympathetic. Still, they had to get off the train so Hagrid could take over and lead them to the castle.

Harry shivered involuntarily as he stepped out onto the platform. While he realized that they were currently in Scotland, he hadn't expected that it would be this cold. The evenings this far up north were unexpectedly frigid, even if it was still the first of September.

"Firs' years over here", a voice boomed over the heads of the students, it's owner wading through the crowd of people that barely came up to his waist. The single light he was carrying illuminating the faces of the students.

A smile came over his face when he noticed Harry, only broadening when he saw Ron standing next to his favourite first year.

"Y'all right there Harry?", he asked before turning towards the rest of the crowd. Most of the other students had already moved off to God knew where, leaving only the new students on the platform.

As it was, it didn't take long for Hagrid to gain everyone's attention. It wasn't exactly hard to miss a huge man with a booming voice when everyone else was simply a twelve year old.

Wasting no time, Hagrid started moving as soon as he noticed that everyone was listening to him.

"Come on, follow me", he said as he started leading them through the forest near the station.

Ron cursed loudly as he lost his footing, slamming into Hagrid's back for the third time. He rubbed his nose, glad that Hagrid was there to stop him from falling on his face, even though it was a bit annoying that the tall man didn't even seem to realise that someone had just run into him.

As they reached the end of the narrow path, some students gasped in surprise, causing the others to turn their heads to see what exactly was causing their amazement.

Hagrid grinned as he watched the mouths of the children fall open one by one. He'd been planning to let them know about the view of Hogwarts, but at the last moment, he decided against it. It would simply be a grand opening surprise, the first in a very long line.

He could still remember the first time he'd lain eyes upon the castle. It was magnificent, making the ministry of magic look like his own hut in comparison.

"Come on now lads, into the boats", he said, trying to get the kids their attention again, "no more 'n four in a single one, we dun want one of 'em to capsize righ'?

Harry followed Ron, Hermione and Neville into one of the boats, careful not to make it sway too much.

Neville looked decidedly nervous as he sat down. He'd never been on a boat before and he wasn't too keen on them either. People had already been ridiculing him about his lost toad. If he were to fall into the lake it'd be even worse.

"Alrigh', here we go", Hagrid shouted as everyone was safely in the boats.

A few other kids gave startled yelps as the boats suddenly started moving across the lake without any visible means of propulsion.

Frightened they looked around, almost as if they were expecting something scary to rise up from the dark lake.

Harry on the other hand was staring wide eyed at his surroundings. While the other children were simply greeted by the magnificent sight of the castle, its lights reflected brightly in the lake, he was watching the castle, together with every single ward around it. Even the magic that was propelling the boats was visible to him.

He blinked several times, not believing his eyes. He'd read about the many wards surrounding Hogwarts, but he could never have believed that there were this many, and of that strength too. It was as if the entire sky surrounding the castle was being illuminated by layer upon layer of protective enchantments. Sadly enough, the total amount of magic that had been used in the wards made this almost like the equivalent of looking directly into the sun.

Harry clutched his head and winced as a sudden jolt of pain shot through his brain as it tried to cope with the massive amount of information his eyes were feeding him.

"Hey, Harry, you alright mate?", Ron asked as he watched his friend quickly clamp his eyes shut and grab his head.

"I'm fine Ron", he replied, biting back a scream as another wave of pain hit him. It didn't take him long to figure out that this headache had to be connected somehow to all of the magic surrounding the castle.

As the pain slowly started to subside, he slowly opened his eyes again, firmly keeping them fixed on the bottom of the small boat. He had little doubt that another wave of pain would wash over him the second he looked up.

Just as that moment, Hagrid warned everyone to keep down their heads. They'd arrived at the entrance of the cave underneath the castle.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction of the rest of the students, Harry pulled out the diary. Opening it on a random page, he whispered as quietly as he could, "Headaches because of seeing too much magic".

He took care to only look at the book and not at the walls of the cave. He had no doubt that there was pure magic floating around even here.

Almost instantly several subjects appeared on the pages.

"Hey, what's with the book Harry, there's nothing in it", Ron suddenly asked.

Harry jumped in surprise as Ron leaned over and looked directly at the pages.

"It's nothing Ron, it's just a diary that I picked up in Diagon Alley. It doesn't allow people other than myself to read it", he replied. While he had bent the truth a bit, most of his story was true this time.

His answer seemed to mollify Ron. Hermione and Neville, who'd been watching him with some interest also looked away. Since Harry was reading his diary, it was only fair that they give him some privacy, allowing him to take a better look at the subject at hand.

It didn't take him long to find something that explained in detail what the headaches were about. Apparently they were the result of his brain taking in too much information about the magic that was in the air at once. Because of this, his brain was making too many pathways inside of itself at once. Possible consequences of this type of overload could be seizures, coma's or even death. He did find though that this type of headache could only take place once. At least, for the location and specific enchantments. Once the pathways were established in his brain, the pain would fade and the danger would be over. At least until he saw a new magical net of equal or greater scale.

With a deep sigh, he closed the book and placed it back into his pocket before looking up cautiously. While he still saw the magic floating around, it didn't seem as bright or intrusive as before, instead it appeared to have moulded itself into the walls.

He quickly made a mental note to himself to warn Ginny about the danger of coming to Hogwarts. Possibly even to show her some of the spells that had been used in the network on the small chance that he would see her again, he seriously doubted that he would even be able to perform one of the spells used in Hogwart's defence.

He smiled contently as they moved out of the boats and up towards the castle. All the while he didn't feel even the slightest bit of pain, not even when they finally arrived above ground, the school in full view.

After they'd been welcomed by a professor calling herself McGonagall they stood, huddled together as they waited for the so-called sorting ceremony to begin.

"What house do you think you'll be sorted with Harry?", Neville asked Harry.

"I've got no idea Neville"

"I sure hope you'll get sorted in Gryffindor", Ron smiled weakly. All five of my brothers have gotten themselves in there so my mom and dad expect me to be sorted there as well.

"Me too Ron", Harry smiled back, he'd definitely wanted to stay together with his first friend at Hogwarts, not that a house division would make that much of a difference.

"I just hope Malfoy over there doesn't get sorted with us", he added.

"That sleazy git? Not a chance of that happening Harry", Ron grinned widely, "someone like him is bound to find himself in Slytherin"

Harry crossed his fingers as McGonagall returned and led the first year students into the great hall. The sight was breathtaking and unnerving at the same time. Never before had he seen such marvellous magic at work, and never before had he seen so many wizarding children in one place. And never before had he been the subject of so many stares. While he knew that no one of the other students realised that he was the boy-who-lived, it was still quite annoying to be stared at by literally hundreds of others. He quickly averted his gaze and started looking around the great hall, not really noticing the marvel of the walls and ceiling, but the magic that made it look so stunning. It was simply amazing how the entirety of the magic worked together harmoniously to produce the results visible to the world.

As something clicked in his mind, he realised that only another Weaver could have created something like this.

"Perhaps the founders of the school were weavers themselves", Harry thought as he made a mental note to look it up in his Diary later.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as McGonagall moved in front of them and placed a stool on the floor.

Another jolt of pain, though significantly less powerful than the last one, shot through Harry's head as he noticed the frayed wizarding hat she placed on the stool.

"That is some powerful magic on that thing", he mused as he watched the network of magic surrounding the hat.

Not much to his surprise, soon after it had been placed onto the stool, the hat suddenly started moving and began to sing a song describing the four different houses.

As it finished, he smiled, together with most of the other first years, as they finally understood that they simply had to put on the hat to become sorted into their respective house. Although Ron appeared to be shooting deadly glares towards one of his brothers.

"What's wrong Ron", Hermione asked as she noticed the looks he was giving at his brothers.

"That git of a brother of mine told me it was an excruciatingly painful and difficult test that we had to do to get ourselves sorted"

Everyone around him couldn't help but chuckle lightly, they'd all been fearing more or less the same thing, though they couldn't help but pity Ron a bit. He'd probably believed his brothers and as such, had quite a bit of more fear of the sorting ceremony than the others.

They were interrupted when professor McGonagall stepped in front of them, holding a roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to

be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

And such, every student was being called forward to be sorted in his or her house. The systematic calling of a name followed by the hat shouting the house was almost hypnotic. Fascinated, Harry kept on looking as the magical patterns in the hat started shifting whenever it was placed on a student's head.

Whisperers started all around the great hall though when McGonagall finally called his own name. He'd expected that something like this would happen. He stepped forward, ignoring the now uncomfortably intense stares and put the hat onto his head. What it said though made him freeze almost instantly.

"Well well, what do we have here", he heard the hat speak, "a true spell weaver, how long has it been? I've sorted a couple people that had part of the ability several decades ago, but it's been ages since I last saw another true Weaver. But now there's the question of where to sort you. There's obviously a lot of intelligence here, necessary since you're a weaver, so Ravenclaw would be a fine choice, but ah, now there's the loyalty to your new friend Ron, the trademark of a true Hufflepuff"

The hat continued to look around in Harry's mind a few more seconds before it started speaking again.

"What's this?", it said, Harry could almost feel it grin in his mind, "aren't you the sly little one. You've apparently been doing quite a decent job of deceiving your friends and hiding your abilities. So perhaps Slytherin would be best suited for you"

"Stop it right there", Harry growled lowly, "you know I'm a weaver, so you must realise that I can find out how you were made and then continue on to make sure you're destroyed in the most painful way possible, and that's exactly what I'm going to do if you dare put me with that slimeball Malfoy"

Much to Harry's astonishment, the hat started laughing loudly at this, drawing the attention of the students to it.

"I say, Mr. Potter. In order to threaten me, there is one thing you need above all", it grinned even more widely, "and that is courage, so there is no place for you other than GRYFFINDOR"

With a big smile on his face, Harry took of the hat and placed it gently onto the stool.

"Thanks", he mouthed at it before turning around and moving towards the one table that was now roaring their approval of his sorting in Gryffindor.

He grinned as he saw every single person at the Gryffindor table stand up and applaud. Some, like the Weasley twins, took it even further and started dancing. He made a small bow in response to the applause and moved to sit at the table, making sure that there was a seat available for Ron.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur. Harry could remember Ron being sorted into Gryffindor and seeing Dumbledore sitting at the head table, but too much had happened in a too short amount of time. It was as if he'd been overwhelmed by the events of the evening and before he knew it, he was laying in his bed, a beautiful four-poster, staring almost into nothingness.

While the dinner itself had been quite uneventful in wizarding terms, though something strange had happened when he noticed the potions teacher, Severus Snape, stare at him. He could've sworn he had seen some magic circling around the teacher before shooting straight at him. Almost reflexively he'd cast a spell himself, blocking the barely visible stream. Apparently, no one around him had noticed anything so he shrugged it off as unimportant. He didn't understand what that particular spell pattern did, but since he'd blocked it so easily, he figured it was probably some sort of prank spell or anything. He'd caught up some conversations going around the table about the potions professor and his apparent hatred for anything that even smelled like a Gryffindor.

While it was a bit surprising that a professor would try to play a prank on students, he supposed that it happened every now and then. After all, the magic world was completely different from the muggle world. Seriously, which schools other than magical ones had poltergeists floating around, a headmaster that was apparently a bit crazy and a even a section that was off limits because one would die a quite gruesome death if you ventured there.

Still, anything would be better than spending the rest of his childhood with the Dursleys and sitting in stuffy classrooms, learning things that you'd probably never need in your life. Magic on the other hand, was so much more useful.

The next day however, things started out not like had expected it. While a bad night's sleep wasn't exactly that unusual, especially given the circumstances, it didn't really help him through the next day. It was as if the entire school needed to take a look at him again, even though they'd already seen him the evening before. What was worse though, was that everyone seemed to move away whenever he closed in on them to ask something. This proved especially annoying whenever he was trying to find a classroom, as if the trick staircases, false doors, Filch and Peeves weren't enough already.

The lessons themselves also weren't exactly what he'd imagined. Given the things he already knew, he thought that there wouldn't be any difficulty with the classes. Of course, that was assuming that there would be some actual spellcasting during those classes.

Charms had been quite a bit of fun, especially when Professor Flitwick toppled off his chair for the second time when Ron accidentally told the entire class that Harry could already do summoning and banishing charms. While it hadn't really been Harry's intention to keep his general magic skills a big secret, it was a bit annoying that being able to do certain spells drew even more attention to him than he already got. Ron was quick to apologise, but the harm had already been done so Harry simply decided to forget about the whole thing and get on with the class.

Of course, Flitwick had asked for a small demonstration, which Harry semi-gladly provided. The little demonstration made the small professor's eyes bulge out right before he awarded Gryffindor with twenty-five points for excellent magical ability.

In sharp contrast with this was Defence Against the Dark Arts. He'd had high expectations for the class which was reputed to be nothing but defensive and combat magic. He hadn't expected a halfway boring lecture and introduction by Quirrel. Still, the class had the potential of turning interesting in the future.

When the time for the transfiguration class came along, Harry quickly found out that someone well versed in this art could easily perform things that would seem almost mindboggling. Especially the animagus transformations seemed incredibly interesting.

Still, given the strict nature of McGonagall, he decided that it would be best not to try anything other than what was taught during the class. That is, whenever the professor was in sight though. There was not a snowball's chance in hell that he wasn't going to try out some of the more complicated tricks involved with this particular branch of magic.

Even so, even McGonagall showed him and Hermione a rare smile when they both succeeded in transforming a match into a needle, though he'd held back quite a bit so that he wouldn't cause another commotion again.

As it was, those were the only classes where magic would actually be used. The others, such as History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology and Potions were, in Harry's opinion, extremely boring. The exception to this was Herbology because it was always fun practical work that you needed to do.

While Astronomy and Potions were also practical work for the most part, it was still different from sitting in a greenhouse digging in the earth and handling all kinds of strange plants. One thing was sure though, he'd never see anything like those plants in Uncle Vernon's backyard.

But especially Potions had left a bad aftertaste. Anyone would despise those classes when the teacher put you through a personal inquisition the first time you even entered the dungeon.

It had been a mistake on Harry's part to believe that Snape's attempted prank at the beginning of the term was merely because he was a Gryffindor. It soon became clear enough that the potions master hated him in particular.

To make matters even worse, it seemed as if Snape cracked down on just about anyone that made even the slightest mistake, if that person wasn't a Slytherin.

The end result of that class was that Neville had ended up in the hospital wing, Harry and just about any other Gryffindor had developed a fervent dislike of the greasy git and they'd lost two points, though that last one wasn't that bad given Harry's performance in Charms.

Still, it wasn't as if Potions was that hard. After all, he'd been making dinner at the Dursleys for almost his entire life and potion making wasn't all that different from cooking, though he didn't say this out loud, lest Snape be somewhere around. He had no doubt that he would lose even more house points if some Slytherin or their head of house overheard him.

It wasn't until the flying lessons that things took another weird turn. By sheer chance, McGonagall had chosen him to be the new seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. All because of Malfoy and his stupid antics.

"I can't believe it mate", Ron exclaimed as they were walking through the corridors, "she actually chose you to be the new seeker on the team"

"Yeah, I can't really believe it myself either. I thought for sure that I was going to be expelled", Harry replied.

"By all rights you should be", Hermione's voice called out from behind them, "I mean, Madam Hooch specifically told us not to fly while she was taking Neville to the hospital wing"

"Aw come on Hermione", Ron complained, "everything turned out alright didn't it?"

"Yes, but what if it hadn't, then what?"

"But it didn't, why can't you understand that?"

"Why can't you understand that Harry took an immense risk by going up into the air when he hasn't even flown before"

"Does it really matter? I mean, he's a natural, didn't you see him up there?"

Harry sighed deeply as he watched the two of them bicker back and forth.

"Blimey, never thought I'd see someone able to argue like that with Ron"

As they'd been walking through the corridors, Fred and George had joined them somewhere on the way.

"I'll say, those two are acting as if they've known each other since the moment they were born", Fred, or George, said in response to his brother's remark.

"Shut up Fred", Ron muttered. He'd just succeeded in making Hermione drop the entire situation, on the promise that he, and Harry, weren't going to pull anymore of those stunts.

"It's George ickle Ronniekins", George grinned at his younger brother.

"Whatever, it doesn't really matter with the two of you"

"Hey now, don't hurt our feelings", Fred smiled as he scoffed Ron lightly on the back of his head.

"Yeah, it really hurts deep inside when even our beloved little brother can't tell the difference", George grinned.

"But actually"

"We're not here to discuss family matters"

"No, we're here"

"to wish Harry here"

"Good luck with the training"

"And that we'll see him there"

With that, the two brothers ran off, but not before throwing a dungbomb into a random door down the hallway.

"Hey you two, I saw that", an angry Filch shouted as he rounded the corner. Apparently he'd been stalking the Weasley twins as they moved about the castle. A wise move, and one that showed great experience in dealing with the twins, or rather, attempting to.

Laughing loudly, the two redheaded pranksters ran off to their next target, completely ignoring Filch as he chased them down the hall.

"How come they know I'm the new seeker?", Harry asked Ron.

"Oh, that's not hard to guess", Ron replied with a big grin on his face, "they're also on the team. Best pair of beaters the school has ever seen. Don't worry, they might be pranksters, but they'll keep the bludgers well away from you"

"What's a bludger?"

At this, Ron hesitated for a moment.

"Wood, the team captain will tell you about that Harry, so don't worry. Right now we better hurry, otherwise we'll be late for transfiguration"

Harry frowned as his friend obviously evaded the question, but decided he'd look it up in the Diary later.

Suddenly however, something clicked in his mind.

"Bloody hell", he muttered under his breath as realisation hit him.

He'd promised he'd write Ginny as soon as possible. Now the term had already been going for a few weeks but he still hadn't sent anything.

"Oh, she must hate me by now", he thought in his mind. With all the excitement, he'd completely forgotten all about her.

Still, there was nothing he could do but sit through the transfiguration class and write the letter afterwards.

His impatience however caused him to create another disturbance of sorts. He'd been so focussed on hurrying up and writing the letter, that he hadn't even noticed when he transfigured his piece of parchment into a small bird that started hopping around his desk.

A loud clattering could be heard when McGonagall's wand dropped onto the floor. She'd been staring wide-eyed at the bird on Harry's desk. She quickly regained her composure though.

"Mr. Potter, I recall that I asked you to transform that bit of parchment into a feather, not a full sized bird", she questioned him, a stern undertone in her voice, "could you please explain to me why there is not a feather, but a whole bunch of them, in the shape of a bird, hopping around your desk?"

"I'm sorry Professor McGonagall", Harry replied sheepishly, "it's just that I remembered that I needed to do something urgent right before class started, so I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing"

"I see", she said as she took a closer look at the bird, "still, while you didn't do what I asked, you did perform a truly magnificent transfiguration. I believe ten points for Gryffindor are in order. But still, next time please do what I ask you to do"

Harry simply nodded. He couldn't exactly believe that his head of house had actually given them points. According to the Weasley twins, McGonagall handing out points was just about as rare as Snape letting a Gryffindor go after said student had done something that could vaguely be considered to infringe with the rules.

After that eventful class, Harry bolted out of the classroom, completely ignoring Ron's calls. He was however, stopped by a certain white haired wizard with an attitude.

"Hey come on Harry, hold up", Ron wheezed as he finally caught up to Harry. He instantly changed his attitude though as soon as he noticed who was standing in front of his friend.

"So Potter, ready to go back to those filthy muggles again?", Malfoy sneered as he watched the two Gryffindors in front of him.

"Shut it Malfoy", Harry said coolly. He didn't have time for the annoying Slytherin and his antics. He wanted to send that letter before going to sleep. With the curfew and all, that didn't exactly leave him much time to go to the common room, write his letter, go to the owlery and send it before Filch started patrolling the corridors.

"What's wrong Potter, In a hurry?", Malfoy grinned as he watched Harry try and walk past him, "going to say goodbye to all your friends before you have to leave? Well don't worry, I think the only person you need to find is walking right next to you"

"As I said before Malfoy, shut your mouth, before I make it so that you won't be able to open it anymore", Harry growled as he tried to get past Malfoy again, only to have the blonde Slytherin jump into his path again.

"Big talk for someone like you Potter", Malfoy grinned, "Say what, I'll take you on. Tonight at midnight, the trophy room. Wizard's duel"

Without even waiting for a reply, Draco turned around and left. Of course he wouldn't go there himself. He'd send Filch. With a bit of luck, he'd land Potter into even more trouble than he already was in. As for the Weasel, he'd probably be expelled together with Potter. After all, wizarding etiquette stated that every wizard participating in a duel should have a second.

"Hah, serves them right", Malfoy smiled gleefully as he walked towards Filch's office.

"Are you going there tonight Harry?", Ron asked his friend the moment Malfoy had rounded the corner.

"Are you mad? Of course I won't be going there"

"But he challenged you to a duel, he'll laugh at you if you don't go and fight him. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to get back at him for those insults"

"Ron, think for a moment. What house is Malfoy in?"

"Slytherin", Ron said without hesitation.

"And what are Slytherins known for?"

"For their sneakiness and their dirty tricks"

"And who would be all too glad to know of a pair of Gryffindors running around at night, way past curfew?"

"Erm, that would probably be either Filch or Snape"

Something clicked inside Ron's brain at that moment.

"Oh, I see. He's going to either one of those to and set us up right?"

"Exactly", Harry smiled before taking off again. His encounter with Malfoy had cost him some precious time.

"Hey Harry, wait up alright? What's with the rush?", Ron shouted as he watched his friend rush to the common room.

"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?", Ron asked Harry after they'd made it to the common room. Harry had immediately started digging through his trunk in search of some spare parchment.

"It's nothing Ron, I just remembered that I needed to write a letter, and I sort of forgot with all the excitement of the first few weeks here in Hogwarts"

"A letter? To who?", Ron asked. He was thoroughly confused. For as far as he knew, Harry didn't have anyone to write to. His muggle family wouldn't even care about their letters and everyone else was at Hogwarts so it wouldn't exactly be much use to send a letter when you could simply walk up to them and say them what you wanted them to know.

"It's private Ron, sorry", Harry replied as his quill scratched over the parchment. He didn't really like to keep Ron in the dark about some things, but in this case, it was necessary.

First of all, he didn't want anyone to know that he was a weaver, but also because he didn't know what Ron's reaction would be. He'd seen how Ron acted around girls and he wasn't exactly sure how well a relationship he had with his sister. It could be love, hate, or anything in between.

"Come on Harry, who is it for?", Ron persisted.

"Ron, I'm sorry but I'm not telling you. There are things that should best be kept between two people, and I'm really sorry, but for this, you aren't one of these two people"

Ron grimaced as Harry spoke.

"But aren't we best friends Harry?", he exclaimed, "don't best friends tell each other everything?"

"Alright then Ron", Harry sighed, "but I won't tell you anything unless you tell me what you're afraid of the most, how old you were when you last wet your bed and every single other dark secret you have"

Ron paled at this. There were things in his life that he would never, ever, tell to other people.

"You've got a point Harry, sorry for bothering you so much", he apologised. Now he understood that being best friends with someone didn't necessarily mean that he had to know everything about the other. Perhaps it was even better if you didn't.

After Ron headed up to bed, Harry worked feverishly on his letter. He still had so much to write about. He didn't just want to tell Ginny about the diary and her apparent abilities. As some form of apology, he had decided to tell her all about Hogwarts and what went on in the caste during a normal day. He'd heard her complain that she wanted to go to Hogwarts as well so he thought that she'd appreciate him telling some things about daily life here.

"You're back just in time for curfew Potter", Snape's voice rang out just as Harry got to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. He'd raced towards the owlery and given his letter to Hedwig before rushing back so that he would make it in time. Snape's presence at the portrait of the fat lady wasn't all that unusual, given Malfoy's little challenge from earlier.

"I'm sorry professor for being so late, but I was simply returning from owling a letter"

"I have no doubt that's exactly what you were doing Potter", Snape said in a bored tone. While Harry was telling the truth, Snape distrusted him so much that he wouldn't believe something he told the professor even if the proof was right in front of him. Still, it didn't matter. Snape couldn't do anything to him right now. He'd returned before curfew so he was still safe.

"I shall be going to bed now professor, good night", he said politely to the potions master.

With that, Harry stepped through the door and wasted no time in going to bed. He was tired from the events of the day. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he had already drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

"So, what do you think of this year's students?", Albus Dumbledore asked the teachers that had assembled in the transfiguration classroom. It was standard procedure for them to gather every year and make an assessment about the new first year students. It helped them in finding unusually gifted individuals amongst the new group that arrived each year. If a certain someone like that was found, it would be easier to help them develop their innate abilities. One of the best examples of that had been Charlie Weasley. It was no wonder that he'd turned out to be one of the best dragon caretakers ever to graduate from Hogwarts.

"I think it's more or less the usual group of talentless wizards and witches thrown together, at least for so far potions is concerned", Snape said in a bored tone. He'd found these meeting to be somewhat of a waste of time, but they were considered to be mandatory.

"The only promising candidates I see are a few of my own house, young Malfoy being the brightest of them all", he continued.

"Same old song eh Severus?", Hooch interrupted him. She was also tired of these meetings, but for a different reason altogether. Every single year, Snape considered every student besides those of his own house to be incompetent fools that were simply muddling around.

"I believe there are some relatively good flyers this year. Especially young mister Potter, my word, I've never seen such a natural at flying in my life"

"I fully agree Rolanda", McGonagall agreed, "I've watched him fly and he is indeed a natural. Not only that, but he excels in transfiguration as well"

"So that's another area where he's good in?", Flitwick asked, "I know for a fact that he's an excellent student in charms. In the first class I gave him, he already appeared to be able to use both Accio and Depulso, both of those are fourth year spells"

Murmurs went around the classroom as the teachers started discussing things by themselves.

"I also must admit that Mr. Potter is an excellent student", Quirrel announced, "he's shown remarkable skill in using the spells taught in my classes"

"I see", Dumbledore mused, his words causing the rest of the teachers to fall silent, "Minerva, what made you believe that young Mr. Potter excels in transfiguration as well?"

Dumbledore watched her intently. Minerva McGonagall was known for both her strictness and the rarity at which she handed out compliments. To say that a person was gifted in transfiguration meant that she considered that student to be extremely talented.

"It happened only earlier today", she began to explain, "apparently Mr. Potter was a bit in a hurry because he didn't really pay attention to my explanation of today's class"

"In what way does not paying attention mean excelling at a course Minerva?", Snape asked her. He was not going to let a chance to subtly ridicule a Gryffindor go to waste.

"If you would let me finish Severus, then you would know", she bit back, "As I was saying, Mr. Potter was in a hurry and apparently listened to my explanation while using only half an ear. The goal of today's class was to transform a bit of parchment into a feather. Apparently he'd heard feather, but somehow he must've thought that it was something else. In any case, I had only just finished my explanation, when I noticed that Harry had already transfigured his piece of parchment, though it was not a feather"

"Then what was it Minerva?", Dumbledore asked. His interest had already been piqued and he was eager to hear the rest of the story.

"Honestly, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it", Minerva continued, "what was on his desk was not a feather, but rather a bird, a finch if I'm not mistaken"

"Are you telling me that this first year student has achieved an animal transfiguration after only a few lessons?", Professor Vector, the arithmancy teacher asked.

"That is precisely what I am saying"

Murmurs started anew after the teachers heard this news. Dumbledore however had sunk deep into his thoughts. He never would've suspected it, but now, he was starting to think. He'd heard about certain people that were capable of great magic, even greater than anything he or Voldemort could even dream of. Merlin had been one of them, but little else was known about their kind. Most people didn't even know they existed.

This however, changed everything. While he wasn't sure yet, Dumbledore suspected that Harry Potter, was a Spell Weaver.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Right, this chapter is again a bit shorter than the usual 10k, again, but I thought that this was a decent place to stop for now.

I do have a question though. Since it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to continue writing chapters that are 10.000 words long, I've been thinking of redicing the length to 5000 words per chapter. This will lead to, of course, shorter chapters, but will also make sure that they are released much faster. As it is, I think that there will be an overall speed-up (depending on the plotbunnies though).

The final choice however, is yours. I here by ask to you, my readers, about your preference. Do you want the chapters to be reduced to 5k, with faster releases, or do you want them to remain at the present 10k, but with slower releases. I don't really care how you let me know, review, PM, E-mail, owl post, ....

When the next chapter reaches 5000 words, I'll check which the majority of you has chosen, and I'll either release right then and there, or I'll continue to write until it has reached 10k. In the event of a draw though, I'll add my personal vote to the results, and I'll probably choose for 5k, since it means less stress for me while writing.

So now that my rant/informative speech/whatever you may call it is over, there's only one thing left for me to say.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Sunlight shone through the light curtains that decorated the room of a certain small redheaded witch.

Ginny groaned as a single nefarious beam managed to sneak through a gap in them and chose to make sure that she started the day in a rather bright way. This however only served to irritate her and she was quick to turn around in her bed while using her pillow to block out any light that might try and disturb her again. The peace she gained was only momentarily though. Soon enough she could hear her mother stomp up the stairs and knock on her door.

"Wake up Ginny, breakfast is ready", the Weasley matriarch called, much too loudly for Ginny's taste.

"Five more minutes mom", she mumbled back as she almost literally tried to stuff the pillow in her ears.

"You are getting up lady and that is final", Molly called back. She knew her daughter's sleeping habits better than anyone. She wouldn't be fooled by the 'five more minutes' excuse. Once you gave in to it, there was no doubt that it would take at least another hour for her daughter to get out of bed.

Muttering, Ginny got up from her bed. She hadn't slept very well, something that happened more and more lately. Combine that with her not being a morning person and most people would be wise to stay well out of her way when she was only just out of bed. If not, one could very well find himself on the receiving end of a well placed bat bogey hex.

Still, her foul mood was only partly due to her sleeping habits . After she'd gotten home, she had been bouncing with excitement about the fact that she was going to receive a letter from THE Harry Potter. Of course she hadn't told her mum, since he'd asked her not to. So her mother simply raised an eyebrow when she saw her daughter's chipper mood.

As the weeks progressed though, Ginny started getting more and more irritated. It was obvious from Harry's presence in the same compartment as Ron while they were on the Hogwarts express that they'd become at least acquainted. Sadly enough, Ron seemed to be rubbing off on Harry, for the latter still hadn't sent his promised letter.

"I hope for his sake that he isn't pulling a Weasley-brother-letter on me", she growled at the empty room as she slowly got dressed.

Still, despite her obvious irritation, she was still anxious to know what exactly that book was. She'd only seen it for a few moments, but apparently it was of immense importance to Harry. For him to confide in her made it seem as if some divine entity had granted her a fabulous privilege.

She was shocked out of her thoughts when she heard her mother calling for her from downstairs.

"I'm coming mom", she shouted back. It wasn't a good idea to oppose Molly Weasley, she knew that fact out of personal experience, so she quickly opened her window to let the room air out a bit and ran downstairs.

Being the only one in the house had, besides the obvious loneliness, some other disadvantages. With the only two people in the house being herself and her mother, Ginny was forced to help with a variety of chores around the house.

Today however seemed different. Apparently Molly had noticed the gradual change in her daughter's behaviour and decided that perhaps it was best to give her a day off. Hopefully, it would brighten her daughter's spirits a bit because the apparent giddiness she felt from actually meeting Harry Potter seemed to have worn off.

"Why don't you go out and play a bit Ginny", Molly smiled as she started cleaning up the table. Arthur had long left for the ministry for his work at the department of misuse of muggle artefacts.

Ginny's mouth dropped open. She looked around, watching carefully for any sign of either Fred or George. Her mother never excused anyone from doing chores around the house. Even when Bill or Charlie returned for a week during the holidays they were ordered to do some chores.

Still, Ginny wasn't one to let that distract her so she bolted upstairs before her mother even had the chance to change her mind. She wasn't about to throw away the opportunity when it had just presented itself.

As it was, it appeared that she had taken the right course of action. The minute she came into her room, she froze.

Sitting on her bed was a magnificent snow-white owl tending to its feathers, until it noticed the new presence in the room and looked straight at her.

For a few moments, neither moved a muscle, but while Ginny looked at the owl with curiosity in her eyes, the owl was staring at her with a calculated look.

As the seconds ticked by, Ginny's mind finally started working again and she remembered Harry having an owl just like the one currently sitting on her bed.

"Hedwig?", she asked, inclining her head to the side.

In response, the owl mimicked her head movement and hooted right before taking off of the bed and landing on Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny flinched as the sharp talons of the owl dug into her skin a bit, but they didn't break through so she shrugged off the pain. Living with six older brothers helped quite a bit in making a girl tough. She couldn't even remember the times when she got hurt in some sort of weird accident. Usually because one of her brothers was involved. Of course it wasn't intentional, but still.

Taking Hedwig's gentle nip in her ear as an affirmation of her earlier question, she stroked the owl's head and quickly detached the letter tied to one of Hedwig's legs. She hadn't noticed it before because the blanket on her bed had covered the owl's legs but now she understood that Harry had sent her a letter.

"About bloody time too", she cursed as she looked at the sender's name on the envelope.

"Go on Hedwig, go and fly back to Harry", she smiled at the owl, but was thoroughly confused when Hedwig refused to budge.

Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate and sat down on her bed, Hedwig still firmly seated on her shoulder.

While she was still a bit mad at Harry for taking so long to send her a letter, she was satisfied that he had at least sent one, unlike a certain brother of her.

Her anger was soon overcome by giddiness though. The more she opened the envelope, the more excited she became. When she finally pulled the letter out, she smiled widely as she saw the sheer amount of words Harry had penned down, though she did notice the seemingly hasty scrawl in which they were written.

"_Dear Ginny", the letter began._

"_I'm sorry for taking so long to write this letter, but I forgot all about it because of the excitement here at school. It's just all so new for me and frankly, the prospect of learning magic is just so thrilling"_

Ginny smiled as she read through the letter. Harry's excuse was actually quite believable so she chose to forgive him. She too was excited to go to Hogwarts and she was from a wizarding family.

Her smile only became wider as she continued to read. Apparently he was feeling so guilty about not writing, that he chose to describe just about every class he had in detail. This of course was almost a dream come true for Ginny, who still didn't have the slightest idea of what to expect of Hogwarts. The description of the sorting ceremony also helped alleviate a lot of her worries. Fred and George had told her that the sorting ceremony was actually a difficult test that could end up to be quite painful. Harry on the other hand told her that it was just as simple as sitting on a chair with a special hat on your head.

With grim satisfaction she started planning some revenge for Christmas, when the twins got back from school.

The more the letter continued however, the stranger it became for her.

Apparently, it all came down to that little book she'd seen on platform nine and three quarters.

The fact that she was capable of reading it proved that she was, just like Harry, a Spell Weaver, whatever that may be.

According to the letter, she had the special ability to see the inner workings of any magic cast in her vicinity. That and she probably possessed a talent for any kind of spellwork.

At first, she thought that Harry was playing a joke on her, but then she remembered the serious look he'd given her on the platform. His eyes at that moment had been ablaze with amazement and confusion, though that had soon made place for determination. That alone was proof enough that he wasn't lying and that everything he was telling her was, in fact, the truth.

As she sat on her bed, she started thinking about her earlier experiences with magic. She had always heard her brothers talk about it as if it was some sort of lightshow, but she had always thought that it was some sort of, well for lack of a better word, tapestry. It seemed to her as if everything in the spell flowed together as it was cast.

That and she also noticed a faint aura from magical items such as her brother's brooms and the enchanted teapot that walked around the table during meals.

She had asked her mother about that light once, but she'd simply shrugged it off as some little girl's imagination running wild. Her reply was that while some enchantments gave off light, most would require a spell to reveal that there actually was one placed on the object. Objects such as brooms or the teapot wouldn't show anything unless examined.

Ginny knew at that point that any further questioning would be useless since her mom would simply tell her to stop imagining things and get back to her chores, so she let it drop. Now however she finally had an explanation for all those things she saw. The fact that it had caused Harry to confide in her was of course a nice bonus.

"_I've instructed Hedwig to stay there and wait for a reply. But don't worry about her dinner, she'll gladly catch some mice out in the garden. Hope to hear from you soon, Harry"_

Ginny sighed as she finished the letter. Harry really hadn't held anything back. As he'd promised, he had told her just about anything he could. It made sense though. They had the same ability, the only two people known today that could use it to its full potential.

While it frightened her a bit, it also made her even more anxious to go to Hogwarts next year, wait, scratch that, it made her even more anxious for Christmas to arrive. She smiled, perhaps she should put some more effort into getting Harry invited to come over during the holidays.

Without delay, she got started on a reply, all the while Hedwig sat on Ginny's shoulder, a curious look in her eyes as she watched the human she was sitting on spring to action.

"There", Ginny said as she watched the result of an hour's work with a satisfied smile on her face.

Right in front of her was her own letter to Harry. She'd started it off with a small berating of his tardiness with the letter, but the rest was rather kind. The letter mostly said that she believed him and that she knew what he was talking about.

She'd also included a small notion of Christmas in it. Her guess was that Harry would be just as eager as herself to meet again and talk things over in person.

While letters were handy, it was all too easy to misunderstand someone. Often it would be best to just meet in person and talk about it, especially when in concerned a subject as complicated as being a weaver.

Without delay, she tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and sent the owl back to her master.

Staring out the window, she watched until the snowy white bird was nothing but a small dot in the sky until finally it disappeared completely.

With a deep sigh, she sat back down onto her bed, not knowing where things would go from now on.

As school went on, the lessons gradually began changing, moving on to somewhat more difficult topics. But as they changed, so did Harry's habits. Much to Ron's confusion, Harry started spending more and more time in the library, reading through books as fast as he could.

He didn't see the point though, Harry had been excelling at the lessons that required spellcasting without even studying, yet here he was, pulling open book after book on spells and enchantments. Just about everything he could find had been piled on a massive stack right next to him.

"I guess he's just becoming a bit insecure about the lessons", Ron sighed as he stalked off to find someone to play chess against. He wasn't exactly eager to go and join Harry in the library, he had better things to do.

Harry's reasons however, were quite different than what Ron suspected. While he knew that he had no problem at all in getting through most of his classes, he still wasn't really satisfied with what they were seeing in there.

Thankfully, he had the entire Hogwarts library at his disposal to research magic. With almost visible glee, he devoured book after book and smiled as his mind assimilated the knowledge.

While the Diary was handy when it came to immediate solutions for a problem, the main downside was that you needed something to search for. It simply wouldn't do to just say conjuration to the book. He'd tried it before and ended up with over fifty pages of topics, most of which were way out of his league. He had found a few useful bits and pieces, but it had taken him well over a day to sift through the entire list. Compared to the library, where it only took him five seconds to ask the librarian, Madame Irma Pince. Almost instantly she had directed him to the correct shelf where he found a wealth of information on conjuration spells, most of which was perfect for younger, not so powerful wizards.

While he was powerful by first-year standards, there was still quite a gap between him and just about everyone above O.W.L. level.

The main reason for that was because his own course books had only covered a few mid-level spells, and that was mostly in a passing mention. The only spells that he had real information about were summoning and banishing charms plus a few others that only had some use in daily life.

Conjuration however had some more possible uses. That and it was he found it fascinating to simply produce things out of thin air. He knew that conjuration wouldn't be covered yet for a few years, but being a weaver had also given him something that most students lacked a bit. An impulse to learn as many spells as possible, one that almost bordered on a mad collection drive. But the reason for that wasn't because he wanted to extend his knowledge, but because of the possibilities that it opened up to him. The more spells he knew, the more compounds he could identify and the easier it would eventually become to create his own spells.

He knew from reading in the Diary that creating spells was incredibly difficult, even for the average weaver. In fact, most were simply satisfied with making extensive modifications to existing spells, up to the point where they could actually be considered to be completely new spells.

He knew that he still wasn't ready for creating his own magic, but that didn't stop him from preparing as well as possible.

Hermione too was surprised to see Harry show up more and more in the library. She had to admit that he was brilliant when it came to spellcasting, but he was rather bad when faced with other courses such as history or potions, though it was rather understandable. Most students were not really eager to perform that much in those two classes. The former was simply too boring, even she herself had some difficulty in staying awake during the endless droning of the ghost teaching them.

Potions however was usually a disaster for the Gryffindors whatever they did. When the Slytherins weren't sabotaging their potions, Snape was either vanishing the contents of their cauldrons or deliberately handing out extremely low scores.

Combined with the average amount of points they lost during a single potions class, it wasn't surprising that just about everyone in their house hated the greasy potions professor.

Much to her amazement however, she noticed that instead of studying potions, Harry was digging through book after book on magical spells, a lot of which she considered to be advanced, even to herself.

This thoroughly confused her.

"Why is he learning spells when he can already do more than is expected in those classes, why isn't he learning Potions, Herbology or History?", she thought as she watched Harry put a book aside with the title 'Conjuration, how to create something out of nothing' and take up another one which obviously focused on duelling spells.

She raised one of her eyebrow, but soon decided that whatever Harry did was his own business. She would be wise to focus on her own work right now. There still was that transfiguration assignment that was due tomorrow. Of course Harry had already finished his in class, but that was just him. At the very least he was bringing in more points than Snape usually took from them.

Combined with the amount of points she got herself, it made sure that they remained well in the race for the house cup.

She watched Harry read for a while before she snapped back into action and started studying herself.

Soon after, things began to fall into a rather comfortable routine.

After he'd received Ginny's return letter, Harry had started communicating regularly with her. He knew from the first letter that she wasn't exactly someone you would want to irritate and he'd promised in his second letter that he'd write her every week and keep her up to date with whatever happened during the year.

Usually, he worked on his letters right before going to bed, describing the events of that day. It felt almost like a journal, or a diary that he was writing.

While his evenings were spent on writing or reading the letters, he usually spent the rest of his days either in the library, playing chess with Ron or on the Quidditch pitch for training.

It had been quite a laugh when Malfoy had once again confronted him the right after he'd gotten his Nimbus 2000 from McGonagall. It had been the truth though, the only reason he'd gotten it was because of Malfoy throwing away Neville's remembrall.

Harry did notice the look in Malfoy's eye though. It was one of absolute hatred. He'd seen that look often enough in the eyes of his 'family', especially Vernon. From that moment forward, he decided that he'd be on his guard every time Malfoy was around.

He probably didn't know that many spells, but neither did Harry, yet. So it'd be wise not to underestimate him. After all, given Malfoy's background, Harry was sure that the sneaky blonde had practised some magic at home under the tutelage of some private instructor. He had to admit that the Slytherin knew quite a bit of magic, most of which hadn't been covered in Hogwarts yet.

That was also one of the reasons Harry spent so much time in the library. After all, there was only so much you could do with an overpowered scourgify charm. You couldn't do much more than cause a rather annoying bit of irritation, and that was only when it hit bare skin. If it hit clothes, the result would be reduced to almost zero percent effectiveness.

As time passed, more and more people started thinking that Harry was completely mental. Who else would be studying spells when his marks on the spell-focused courses were the highest in the entire year. Not even Hermione seemed to be able to catch up to him.

Still, Harry didn't exactly mind that much. He'd gotten used to the weird stares people gave him. Not really that surprising, given the fact that he'd been faced with them from day one at Hogwarts.

He was surprised at the acceptance of the students though. But when he thought about it, there was actually quite a logical explanation for it. He was the boy-who-lived, the only one to ever survive a killing curse. Of course people had high expectations for someone such as himself.

So, in a way, the unfortunate events that had happened earlier in his life were now helping him. It was a bit morbid, but he wasn't about to complain. At least it made it possible for him to go through classes and learn new spells without attracting that much attention from the rest of the students. At least not more than usual.

As Halloween approached, classes were slowly beginning to get more interesting, at least for the rest of the students. During the charms lesson of that day, they had finally moved on to levitation.

Harry ignored Flitwick's advice on the swish-and-flick motion they'd been forced to practise during the past few lessons and was just about to levitate his feather when the tiny professor asked Harry to perform a demonstration.

Harry sighed as he stood up. It had become almost something of a ritual for Flitwick to ask him to show something to the class. It wasn't like Harry wanted to show off, but was somewhat inevitable when the teacher asked you to.

With a casual wave of his wand, Harry quickly levitated several objects at once from the desks and made them float around for a while before sending them back towards their rightful owners.

"Very good Mr. Potter, very good", the professor squeaked in an excited voice, "ten points to Gryffindor"

"How in the blazes do you do that Harry? ", Ron asked him as he sat down again.

"What do you mean Ron?"

"How is it that you're so good at spells and all?"

"I don't know, just a knack for it I think. That, and I spend a lot of time in the library researching stuff"

Ron nodded, but Harry could see that he wasn't that convinced. Still, he didn't ask about it anymore so Harry didn't worry about it either.

As the class progressed more and more, Harry noticed that Ron was struggling a bit with lifting his feather.

He was fervently hoping that his friend wouldn't turn to him for help for a number of reasons. But still, his hopes were crushed when Ron turned to him and asked for help.

"Ron, I don't think I'd be the right person to teach you about that. Seriously, I have no idea of what to correct or anything. You'd be better off asking Hermione", Harry answered Ron's call for help. It wasn't a lie though. He could see that Ron was doing something wrong when he looked at the magical structure of whatever it was he was casting, but he couldn't exactly tell that to everyone in the class. Correcting the wand movement or pronunciation wasn't exactly going to help either because he wasn't exactly using the same spell as Flitwick had taught them. In fact, he'd seen a mention of the Wingardium Leviosa spell before, but hadn't even paid attention to it that much. There were spells much better suited to levitation than that particular one. Mainly because Wingardium was limited to only one object at a time and that the caster needed to pay close attention to what he was doing. It wasn't like the spells Harry knew. He simply cast his own spell on several objects at the same time, input a somewhat pre-programmed path or action into them and let his magic do the rest.

The main advantage of this was that while the objects were flying around, he could do something else and maximise his efficiency.

With a dissatisfied grunt, Ron turned around and whispered his question to Hermione.

Harry continued to play around with the feather he'd been given, making it rocket straight up until it got stuck in the ceiling before causing it to plummet down and do the same thing with his desk.

He'd just sent the feather to tickle Seamus' ear when he heard an argument erupt right next to him.

"Fine then, if you're so clever, why don't you do it then", Ron growled at the bushy haired witch he was talking to.

This however, was a rather big mistake on his part. Especially when one considered the fact that Ron hadn't even gotten his feather to budge even in the slightest.

Without replying, Hermione performed the spell, purposefully acting as casual as possible while she sent the feather into the air. While it had nowhere near the speed of Harry's projectile which was now trying to scribble something in Neville's book, it was still flying quite surely through the air.

"See", she replied smugly as she turned to Ron, smiling broadly.

"That proves nothing", Ron turned his back to her, his face red with anger.

"Actually Ron, that proves quite a bit", Harry grinned at his friend, "she's right you know, about the pronunciation"

"Oh, so now you're picking her side are you?"

"No, I was just saying that she was right with her explanation"

"You are taking her side"

"Ron, you asked for help and she did, so why are you mad at her? Because she's better at the spell than you are? So what, I'm probably a bit better than her but do you see her getting mad?", Harry sighed as he faced Ron.

"Right, I believe that will be everything for today", Flitwick announced the end of the class, interrupting the developing argument between the two boys.

"She didn't have to do it in such a condescending manner you know", Ron growled.

"Don't let it bother you, she was just playing a joke on you, isn't that right Hermione?", Harry called to her. She'd been watching the two friends bicker with a bit of interest, but she decided that Ron had been going at it long enough.

"You're right Harry", she grinned, "Come on Ron, it wasn't that bad. Besides, your two older brothers play pranks on everyone, so why can't we make a joke every now and then"

Ron however was less than pleased.

"So you think it's funny to simply ridicule me because I suck at the spell?", he shouted.

"It's not like that Ron. I was just helping you but you decided to go and act all high and mighty simply because you didn't like my explanation. I didn't like that so I had a little payback", Hermione tried to calm the furious redhead down, to no avail.

"Yeah, well it wasn't funny", he grumbled before turning around and stomping out of the classroom.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before shrugging. He'd come around sooner or later. While Ron had the tendency to lash out rather quickly, he was also quick to forgive and forget.

"My guess is about two days", Harry grinned at Hermione.

"Four days", she replied, "five knuts?"

"Deal", Harry shook her hand, sealing their bet.

As they both had predicted, Ron didn't talk to them during dinner. Apparently, not even the stunning amount of decorations in the great hall could divert his attention. Thousands of bats flew around while animated pumpkins scared several people as they floated around, laughing maniacally.

The sheer amount of decorations caused even Harry to have a slight headache as his mind tried to cope with another major influx of information.

They'd only just started eating when all of a sudden professor Quirrel stormed into the great hall, shouting something about a troll in the dungeons.

Almost instantly wide spread panic erupted amongst the students. Harry on the other hand, was looking around curiously.

Of course, he vaguely knew what a troll was, but still he didn't understand the danger of simply a dumb thing that was anywhere between three and five meters tall.

Still, he obediently followed the rest of the students when Dumbledore finally got them calmed down.

It wasn't until they were almost at the common room that he noticed something was wrong.

"Hermione", he asked, "where is Ron?"

The girl froze, ignoring the muttered curses of a third year student that had bumped into her because of the sudden halt.

"You don't think he...", she gasped as she turned to Harry.

"Knowing him, it's probably that way", he sighed in response. In his opinion, Ron had just broken the record on the stupidity scale with his most recent action.

"Come on", he whispered to Hermione, "we have to go and get him. There's no way he can beat a troll on his own"

Nodding her agreement, Hermione quickly followed Harry as he snuck away from the rest of their house.

Ron was having quite a bad day. First Hermione makes fun of him when he asks for help with that stupid levitation charm, then Harry joins in and starts to ridicule him as well and to top it off, he couldn't even perform the charm in the end.

His day had suddenly brightened when their DADA professor had come into the great hall to tell everyone that there was a troll roaming around.

He smiled as he heard the news. This was his chance to prove himself. This was his chance to prove that he was a capable wizard. His victory would finally put him on the same level as Harry and Hermione. Finally they would recognise him for he really was, not as some sidekick for either of those two.

Right now however, things were not going as well as he thought they would. Finding the troll had been easy enough. It wasn't exactly hard to spot a twelve feet tall behemoth stalking through the corridors.

Fighting it on the other hand, had proven to be quite a bit more difficult. As he stood in front of the creature, he came to the conclusion that the most damaging spell he knew, was a jelly-legs jinx. And even that wasn't effective on the thing. While it would've been stupid enough to trip over its own legs, its skin was simply too magic resistant to do anything

"Right, fighting a troll by yourself, bad idea", Ron muttered as he turned and ran away from the menace.

Trying to ignore the resounding echoes the footsteps of the troll made on the floor as it pursued him, Ron ran as quickly as his legs could carry him. It wasn't much use though. The troll's longer strides gave him a distinct advantage over the small wizard.

Just as he was about to look around to see how far behind the troll was, a massive crash shook the entire castle.

The troll had caught up and swung its massive club, missing Ron by a hair as the massive piece of wood came down, making a decently sized crater in the rock floor.

But while it had missed, the sheer force of the impact was more than enough to send him flying several meters.

"Right, trying to fight a troll by yourself, REALLY bad idea", Ron said to himself as he scrambled backwards, trying to put as much distance between him and the creature.

He looked in fear as the troll quickly caught up to him and raised its club to strike again, when suddenly a loud call came from behind him.

Harry had just rounded the corner when he saw the troll take aim at Ron, preparing to squash him like a bug. Reflexively, he drew his wand and in a smooth motion pointed it at the troll.

"Expelliarmus", he shouted as he put as much magic into the spell as he could.

Ron watched in awe as a bright white light shot over his shoulder and hit the troll's raised hand.

The sudden jolt was enough for it to drop his club in confusion. It was still staring around, wondering what had just happened, when the club it had just dropped impacted on its foot with a sickening crunch.

While Harry knew that he was nowhere near strong enough to bring down the troll, he did think he could disarm it and in the process buy them enough time to escape.

After firing the spell, he wasted no time in moving towards his friend.

"Come on Ron", he shouted over the troll's pained wails as it hopped around on one foot, grabbing the other with its hands.

Ron reacted quickly, knowing that they only had so long until anger overtook the pain in the creature's mind. He grabbed Harry's hand and sprinted away from the howling monstrosity.

Just as they reached the corner, they noticed a distinct silence had come over the hallway. It didn't last for long though. A deafening roar echoed through the corridor right before they heard massive footsteps approaching.

"Oh bugger", Ron whimpered before shouting to his friends, "Run"

Not daring to look over their shoulders, the three students ran as fast as they could through the halls, trying to shake off the troll by taking random turns as they raced through the castle.

Harry's throat ached every time he drew breath. They'd been going at full speed for several minutes now and was running out of breath quite fast.

"Through that door", Ron shouted as they moved into another hallway.

As one, they stormed towards the door in front of them.

"Bloody hell, it's locked", Harry growled in frustration as he tried to open the heavy wooden door. Much to his amazement, Hermione quickly pushed him aside and pointed her wand at the lock.

"Alohomora", she said quickly. Instantly the lock clicked and the door opened by itself.

"Come on, let's go"

Quickly the trio moved into the room, closing the door behind them.

"So, you think we lost it?", Ron whispered as they all stood with their backs against the heavy wooden door, their breaths ragged as they tried to regain some stamina after having run through what seemed like half the castle.

"I don't know, but I sure hope so", Hermione replied. She'd only caught a glimpse of the massive beast before they'd turned to run away but even that was enough to scare her to the bone.

Just as they sighed in relief, they were startled as a low rumbling echoed through the room they were in.

As one, their heads turned in the direction of the sound and they froze again. It seemed that they'd stumbled from one dangerous situation into the next, though it seemed that this one was a tad more on the risky side.

"Is it just me or is there a giant three-headed dog sitting there in this room?", Ron whimpered as he took in the size of the massive canine.

"It's real alright", Harry swallowed, "I suggest we go out and ask the troll to be nice to us"

Just as Harry said this, the eyes on one of the dog's heads turned and spotted the three students standing at the door.

Almost in a flash the dog had righted itself, all three heads glaring at the intruders, a low growl seemingly shaking the foundations of the room.

Just as it was about to attack, it looked up, confused, as it tilted its head.

Wondering about what was happening, the three students simply stood there, until heavy footfalls started resounding through the room as they slowly got closer and closer.

"Hermione", Harry shouted as he pushed Ron to the side and dove for Hermione, dragging her away from the door as they both fell to the floor. He winced as his elbow impacted sharply with the solid rock, but his mind ignored it. There were more important things to worry about right now.

Mere moments after Harry had gotten his two friends away from the door, the wood splintered as the troll barrelled through it, taking bits and pieces of the doorway itself with it.

Instantly the dog shifted its attention to the new threat. Compared to the three little children from before, this creature was the more dangerous one of the lot. Without hesitation, the dog launched its attack.

Before the troll even had the chance to figure out exactly what was happening, it felt a sharp pain in its left leg. With a dumb look on its face, it looked downwards, only to find that particular leg to be currently missing. It howled out in pain as the realisation started to get through its thick skull.

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat frozen to the ground as the dog started tearing the unfortunate troll to pieces until eventually the three heads were left fighting for a final bit of meat.

Just as the last bit was torn apart, splattering vile smelling troll blood everywhere, the three of them snapped out of their shock and quickly scrambled backwards, out of the room.

"Thank God that thing is on a chain", Ron breathed in relief as the dog eyed them carefully, as if warning them not to get any closer.

"Even if it didn't have a chain around its neck, I doubt that it would come after us", Hermione said, "you see how he's just standing there? He isn't even trying to come after us. That and he's standing on a hatch. Obviously he's just guarding something"

Harry snickered as Ron looked decidedly ticked off. Leave it to Hermione to stay her usual analytical self even during a crisis.

Just as they started to get themselves together again, footsteps again filled the corridors, though this time, they were a lot lighter, though also a lot more hurried.

"Dear God", McGonagall exclaimed as she watched the scene in front of her. Three of her students, covered in blood, were sitting in front of the forbidden room, the door in splinters and troll remains scattered all over the place. Obviously Fluffy's handiwork.

Dumbledore and Snape had similar reactions as they too arrived at the scene mere moments after McGonagall.

"What happened here?", Dumbledore asked as looked closely at the three students, extending a small tendril of legilimency towards them.

Harry mentally frowned as he saw three familiar looking wisps of magic float through the air, directed to both him and his friends. Without a second thought, he swept them aside by waving his hand and focused on the current situation, deciding that he'd think about that later. He tried to answer, but was cut off by Ron.

"I went out to look for the troll Headmaster", Ron said sheepishly, "I was jealous at both Harry and Hermione because they were able to perform spells as well as they could. I thought that if I could take down the troll, I would be recognised for my skills as a wizard"

Ron finished his explanation with his head bowed in apology. He know that he'd been stupid for going out as he had.

Albus watched dumbstruck as his legilimency was batted aside as if it wasn't even there. He was supposed to be a master at the art, yet here was someone, a mere first year student, that had deflected his attempt before it had even made contact. Such a feat was unheard of, and while he had detected the presence of magic being cast, he hadn't noticed any of them do anything. Instantly, he began pondering over the possible consequences of his most recent discovery.

McGonagall, noticing that the Headmaster was currently preoccupied with something other than reprimanding the wayward students, took over. As soon as Albus Dumbledore started thinking about something, there was no way to get through to him until he had come to a conclusion.

"I am severely disappointed in you Mr. Weasley", she said grimly, "I know that being a Gryffindor means being courageous, but there is a difference between courage, and utter foolishness. What you did today was, sadly enough, the latter of the two. I'm afraid that I'll have to take 10 points from Gryffindor for this"

She sighed inwardly, though she kept her outer appearance exactly the same as before. She hated to dock points from her own house, but she wasn't as prejudiced as Snape. She knew that he favoured his own house above all others. She'd even gone to Dumbledore with it several times, but he'd just told her that everything would work out in the end so she took his word for it. Usually, it did, one way or the other, but still.

"So, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Granger, what is your explanation for being here?", she continued.

"Isn't it obvious Minerva, they were trying to take down the troll as well. Surely they know enough spells to be able to best such a thing", Snape sneered as he watched the students in front of him.

"Please, Severus, refrain from making any accusations until we've heard them out. People have been wrongly judged before because no one was willing to listen to both sides of the story"

"Go on Mr. Potter", McGonagall said to Harry.

Harry nodded his thanks before beginning his explanation.

"We were both following the rest of the students to our common room when we noticed that Ron wasn't there. We knew that he was angry with us because of the last charms lesson, but we thought he'd calm down in a few days. We did however make the connection when we didn't see him heading towards the common room like the rest of us, so we went to look for him. We found Ron just as that troll was about to kill him, so I used Expelliarmus to disarm the troll. After that we helped Ron up and ran away as fast as we could until we finally ended up here".

"Oh, what a miracle", Snape said mockingly, "Potter's explanation actually makes some sense. Pretty well constructed for a lie, but a Slytherin like me can see right through it. I'm afraid that'll be twenty point from Gryffindor, for each of you, for disobeying orders, generally acting with the average level of intelligence of a Grindylow's behind and trying to lie to a professor"

As the potions professor continued, all three of the Gryffindor students swallowed. They'd just lost fifty points, something that was currently unprecedented this year. Not even the twins had managed to lose so many points in a single go.

"Hold it Severus", Minerva interrupted, "I don't appreciate you trying to belittle students from my house. And if I recall correctly, if in the presence of the head of house, final judgement of any punishment or reward will be delegated to that head of house. As such, I will stand by my decision to dock Mr. Weasley ten points, but I will have to override your decision. Instead, I shall be giving both Mr. Potter and Mrs. Granger twenty points for intelligent thinking, courageous behaviour and loyalty to a friend"

"You can't be serious", Snape hissed at his colleague, "you can't do this"

"As a matter of fact, and I can", she replied, "now if you would excuse me, we have more urgent matters to attend to. You three, follow me"

She directed her three students to follow her as she moved down the hallway and headed towards the infirmary, leaving a fuming Snape and a pondering Dumbledore behind. It just wouldn't do for her to send them back towards the common room before getting Poppy to check them for any injuries. That and they'd cause quite the commotion if they entered while dressed in their current clothes. They'd have to be cleaned up at the very least if they wanted to be a bit presentable.

The next day the school was ablaze with rumours. Harry, Ron and Hermione's absence from the Gryffindor common room hadn't gone unnoticed and of course, people had started speculating, creating story after story, each one even more spectacular than the other.

Harry and his two friends however decided to stick to the explanation McGonagall had told them to give.

He agreed with their transfiguration professor on that aspect, and with short talk, he'd managed to get Ron convinced about it as well. Hermione didn't need to be convinced though. She'd come to the same conclusion as Harry had when they'd first heard the cover story.

"We just got separated from the rest and were cornered by that troll. Thankfully the professors arrived just in time to save us", he told what had to be the thirtieth student so far that day.

He sighed as he moved off towards the library. At least there he could have some peace of mind. He still hadn't been able what that strange magic cast by both Dumbledore and Snape had been. One thing was for sure though, it wasn't something innocent as he'd first believed. Dumbledore was a serious man, despite the obvious twinkle in his eyes, and the fact that he'd cast that particular bit of magic during their small mishap earlier that day. A search in the Diary hadn't really gotten him much. The little info he had was much too vague to actually produce some relevant topics. The total amount of pages filled to the brim with subjects about 'thin wisps of magic sent out of a person' was well over two hundred. He'd be better off looking it up in the library. Sadly enough, he didn't really want to spent his time on something that would probably be a wild goose chase anyway. Besides, it couldn't be harmful since Dumbledore was willing to cast it on a bunch of first year students. It was a much better idea to spend his time on something that was actually useful, such as learning more spells Harry decided.

Thankfully, the excitement of the events that had happened during Halloween eventually died down as the talk of the school was taken over by something else altogether. The Quidditch season had started, with the first match being Gryffindor versus Slytherin, tension was high. There had always been some serious rivalry between the two houses, and the Quidditch match usually ended up as a miniature war between the two. This however meant that it would be quite the show for those watching, no matter which house they were from.

This however caused Harry to become quite nervous. Not to mention the fact that this was his first actual Quidditch match, he also had the entire hopes of the Gryffindor house resting on his shoulders. It was up to him to catch the snitch and win the game.

The fact that Snape had apparently tried to get past that dog had registered with him, but did little to dispel his nerves about the match. That and he was rather eager to forget all about that night.

Though it was something that he should look into afterwards. As such he added it to his steadily growing list of things to look into.

He'd get there eventually, it's just that he had a certain Quidditch match to worry about right now.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, here it is, finally. The end result of the vote was clearly in favour of 5k words chapters. As such, I'm releasing it now. It's actually a bit shorter than 5k, but the place where I got now was simply too good not to have as a chapter ending. There's a lot of new stuff here, and from now on, this story will deviate completely from the original timeline (as you will notice shortly ^^).

I know that this chapter took a lot longer to release than usual, even if it's only 5k words, but there's a rather good reason for that (and no, the fact that I'm 'slightly' addicted to Eve Online doesn't have anything to do with it. Oh wait, did I type that?)

The main reason for this delay is RL though, I've been incredibly busy with both my courses at school, preparing for my exams and my internship. Let me tell you, putting up a Full Drive Encryption and Data Loss Prevention system for the biggest hospital in Belgium is not easy. It's almost over though, only a month more or so and after that I'll (hopefully) have some more time.

In any case, enough with the rant. On with the story

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Harry swallowed heavily as he listened to Oliver's speech moments before he climbed onto his broom and took off into the air.

While he normally enjoyed flying with every fibre in his being, today was a bit different. It wasn't exactly common for the combined hopes of the entire Gryffindor house to be resting on his shoulders. They all depended on him catching the snitch to win. Sure, there were times that a team won even if they didn't catch the snitch, but with the Slytherin team being as good as they were, there was little chance of that happening.

He slowly circled the stands, trying to get his nerves under control. He smiled a bit as he saw his friends there, waving a flashing banner, trying to encourage him as much as possible.

"Right, I want a good clean match", madam Hooch she said, with an obvious glare at the Slytherin captain.

She whistled right before throwing the quaffle up into the air, and they were off.

While the Gryffindor chasers took hold of the ball, the Slytherins spread out, their beaters going for the bludgers while their chasers pursued their Gryffindor counterparts.

Within moments Harry was forced to go into a steep dive as he noticed a bludger coming straight for him at high speed.

"You alright there Harry?", Fred shouted as he returned the favour, sending the bludger rocketing towards one of the other team, grinning widely when it impacted with one of the Slytherin beaters.

"I'm fine", he shouted back as he pulled up, trying to gain as much height as possible.

He kept on watching the playing field as the game progressed, until he heard Flint, the Slytherin captain, shout loudly. Apparently, the snitch had just zoomed right in front of his nose, distracting him enough to make him drop the quaffle.

A flash of gold showed at the edge of his vision and without even thinking, Harry had started a nose-dive straight at the snitch.

He had been so focused on the little golden ball, that he didn't even notice when the Slytherin seeker pulled into position almost right next to him. Though he did notice it when two iron balls came barrelling in on a collision course.

Without even thinking, he pulled on his broom with all his might, placing his feet on the shaft as it was pulled nearly horizontal of its original course. Harry braced himself as his rocketing dive came to a sudden stop, causing the two balls to overshoot him and hit Terence Higgs, the Slytherin seeker, with a sickening crack.

"And a marvellous demonstration of the Hopling Skidbrake manoeuvre by Harry Potter, as he educates the Slytherin beaters why it's not a good idea to send bludgers towards the enemy seeker when your own is flying right next to him", Lee Jordan, who was taking care of the commentary, said with obvious glee in his voice.

Seeing his direct opponent get hit by the bludgers, Harry straightened out his broom and dove towards Higgs, grabbing him by the straps on his harness just as his broom gave out with a resounding snap. As the two now useless pieces of wood fell towards the ground, Harry braced himself, trying to keep a hold on the body of the much heavier Slytherin.

"Time-out, Time-out", Hooch shouted as she blew on her whistle. Apparently, the Slytherin chasers and beaters had simply continued their playing, ignoring their seeker's severely injured state.

Harry sighed heavily as Fred and George quickly came to his aid, helping him carry the seventh-year to the ground where madam Hooch was waiting.

"Will he be alright Madam?", he asked.

"I sure hope so", she replied, signalling for madam Pomfrey to come over and help him.

"He's unconscious", the mediwitch said as she took a hold of the boy, "several ribs fractured, broken arm and shoulder. He'll need at least three days of recovering in the hospital wing"

With utmost care she lifted him into the air and started moving away when she was stopped by Flint.

"Hey, what are we supposed to do without a seeker?", he shouted.

"You can either give up the match, or you can continue playing until the snitch is caught. If your seeker recovers before Mr. Potter manages to catch it, he is welcome to rejoin the game"

"That's ridiculous, how are we supposed to win without our seeker?"

"Don't you have a reserve seeker?"

"Why the hell would we need a reserve seeker?", Flint bellowed, "we Slytherin are stronger than that"

Madam Hooch looked disappointed as she heard that.

"Apparently Mr. Flint, you're mistaken in that assumption", she said before blowing the whistle again and indicated that the game could resume.

Moments after Harry was in the air, the whistle sounded again and the game was underway. This time, the two Slytherin beaters came rocketing towards him again, eager to inflict some damage. Apparently, they thought that they'd have a better chance at winning the game when they put Harry in the hospital wing as well. Fred and George quickly noticed this though, and soon a battle between the beaters erupted as each team tried to knock the other beaters off their brooms. As the rest of the game continued around him, Harry swerved between the players and bludgers, searching intently for the snitch. Looking at the things happening on the field, he had no doubt that another injury would occur shortly if he didn't end the game soon.

Spotting a glimpse of gold hovering right above the grass in the centre of the pitch, Harry went into a steep dive. The crowd had only just noticed his move by the time he shot back up into the sky, the snitch clasped firmly in his hand. Cheers erupted from all over the stadium, with the notable exception of the Slytherin stands, as Madam Hooch signalled the end of the match. His cheering teammates landed eagerly onto the pitch, ready to intercept their seeker when he came back down. They were absolutely intent on carrying their 'here for one day, or perhaps some more' on their hands towards the Gryffindor common room.

Though as Harry tried to come back down to where the rest of the team was waiting, his broom lurched a bit. Seeing the magic around it distort, he knew that something was wrong.

Tracing the streams back to their source, he was surprised to see that there were actually two people in the stands casting magic.

He noticed that the strand of magic interfering with his broom was actually coming from Quirrel, while Snape's incessant casting actually caused it to lose most of its power as it travelled from the Dark Arts teacher to his broom.

"What the?", he thought as he watched the two fight it out in what seemed to be a losing battle for Snape.

As he felt the lurching of his broom intensify bit by bit, Harry quickly realised that he needed to do something, otherwise he'd fall off of his broom in no time flat.

"Oh bugger", he swore under his breath as he remembered that his wand was safely tucked in his trunk. He knew he could handle some magic wandlessly, but still, he hadn't practiced it that much and the few times he had performed it, he'd been in a right inattentive state, that and he'd just intended to swat whatever was coming his way to somewhere else, not to do something specific such as cancel a charm, hex or whatever it was Quirrel was putting on his broom. Besides, it was always easier to avoid a chain rather than to try and break it. Still, it was better to just try rather than to end up as a Potter Pancake on the pitch.

Silently, he sent out his magic, trying to negate the effects on his broom. While initially successful ,he soon met his first obstacle though. Quirrel was an educated Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. As such, he knew what he was doing, even if he was someone that was supposedly a bit queer. Within moments, Quirrel had circumvented Harry's attempted defence and the lurching returned in full force.

"Damn", Harry muttered as he held on, his concentration gradually being forced away from spellcasting and towards his broom as it started to shake more and more.

As he watched Snape's futile attempts at breaking Quirrel's curse, he got an idea. Of course it should be easier to simply take away the source of the spell rather than to work against it when its effects were at their intended destination and thus, at full power.

Still, watching Snape cast spell after spell without any apparent effect did show him that simply intercepting the constant stream of magic coming out of Quirrel wouldn't be an easy task.

"Unless", he grinned as he silently gathered as much of his magic as he could, before sending it out. He knew that Quirrel would probably recognise any spell he sent towards the man, and most of all, just about every single spell he knew that could disrupt the man's attention was indicated by a rather colourful effect. Since he couldn't reveal his secret yet, he couldn't give any indication of him using magic.

He'd had a lot of practise with programming his magic somewhat, but what he was about to do was not something he'd done before.

Snape was getting tired. He'd been fighting the curse sent at Harry's broom for several minutes now, and it was gaining in power as his own attempts at dispelling it failed. He had no idea who was doing it, except that it was coming from somewhere amongst the teachers and visitors. The momentary relief he'd felt earlier was surprising, but he quickly forgot about it as the increasing difficulty monopolised his attention. Muttering counterspell after counterspell as fast as he could without attracting any attention, he kept on sending his magic towards the Potter boy.

He cursed lowly as he noticed his attempts fail, wishing that he'd practised a bit more on his wandless spellwork. Still, he couldn't use his wand, so it was the only possibility. Beside, even if the boy fell, he could probably cast a spell to slow his fall sufficiently so that he wouldn't die. Something not even the headmaster could do without his wand. Of course, that was because the headmaster didn't have any aptitude as a spell weave, but even Snape himself knew that his own abilities paled in comparison to that of a true weaver. While it was true that he had created a few spells, those were mostly still heavily modified versions of earlier spells, Sectumsempra for example, was nothing more than a severely overpowered Diffindo spell. That, and his wandless ability was limited only to more basic spells that were also rather underpowered for someone of his calibre.

He was distracted though when all of a sudden a massive surge of magic came out of the Potter boy. Even though he realised quickly enough that other people couldn't see the magic approach and that it wasn't aimed at him, his unconscious mind still made him duck and cover because of the sheer amount coming straight at the stand he was in.

Quirrel's eyes widened as suddenly he felt as if someone had just hit him with a massive sledgehammer. His brain barely had any time to register the impact before his body was literally pushed straight through the seats and out the back of the stand.

"Impossible", Snape breathed as he clambered upright, keeping his eyes on the DADA professor that was currently flying through the air in a graceful arc.

"Mobilicorpus", Dumbledore shouted, hurriedly pointing his wand at Quirrel. Too late though.

With a sickening thud, Quirrel smacked into the soil, a loud crack clearly indicating the breaking of a bone.

Harry stared at the professor with eyes open wide. He'd just intended to push Quirrel back a bit, to break his concentration and thus dispel the spell. He hadn't intended to kill the man.

As he slowly realised that he'd actually killed a man, even by accident, he felt bile rising in his throat. Swallowing heavily, he managed to suppress the feeling, but as he did so, he felt himself get weaker.

Just as Quirrel hit the ground, a piercing pain shot through his scar at the exact same moment that a vile green haze rose from the DADA professor's corpse. Darkness started to encroach onto his vision as the pain continued.

Unable to stop himself, Harry felt his grip on his broom go slack. A terrified scream was the last thing he heard before the world went black.

"I'm telling you headmaster, it was Potter that sent out the burst of magic that pushed Quirrel through the stand", a voice came tearing through the veil that covered his mind.

"Professor Snape, I'd appreciate it if you were to keep your voice down", another voice hissed, though this one was distinctly female.

"Madam Pomfrey, would you please leave us for a moment? I promise we'll keep out voices down. Severus, are you absolutely sure that the surge came from Harry?", a third voice now came through, though it was decidedly more silent than the previous two. It took Harry a while to realise that the people he was hearing were no other than Professor Snape and the Headmaster.

"Albus, you know that I have part of a spell weaver's ability", Snape continued, "and I'm telling you, Potter here has the exact same ability, though a lot more powerful than mine. My guess is that he's a true weaver"

Harry felt a surge of panic course through his body as he heard hit potions professor hit the mark straight on, but instead of jumping upright, he restrained himself. Obviously the two of them weren't aware that he was awake. Simply laying there would yield a lot more information for use in the future. He'd learned that the hard way whenever he'd been beaten by Dudley and his gang. If he simply pretended to be unconscious after a beating, he could usually figure out what they were going to try for the next time, and act appropriately.

"Hmmm, so it's as I suspected", Dumbledore mused, "ever since that meeting, I've been keeping an eye on young Harry here, and I must admit, he is extraordinarily talented at magical spells"

"And he is absolute rubbish at potions", Snape muttered.

"Ah yes, well that's to be expected isn't it Severus?", Dumbledore smiled, "true weavers were renowned for their casting, but not for their potionmaking"

"There is still the matter of one of our professors being murdered though. By none other than your golden boy here"

"I am aware of that. But I checked Quirrel's wand, and found that it had been used to cast the jinx used to make Harry's broom out of control. My guess is that he simply though he could defeat Quirrel by giving him a slight shove, but that he wrongly estimated his own powers"

"Even so he still killed someone Albus, the repercussions of this could be enormous. The whole school witnessed that he was killed through the use of magic. We're bound to have an investigation from the auror department at this rate"

"Severus, do not worry", Dumbledore continued, "you too noticed the green haze that left Professor Quirrel's body when he died didn't you?"

"Are you telling me that was the Dark Lord?"

"I'm afraid so", the headmaster continued, a grave look on his face, "I know the feeling of his magic well, after all, I was his teacher, and I've fought with him several times now. That was undoubtedly his magical signature. It is the reason why he tried to curse Harry's broom as well I believe"

Harry unconsciously frowned as he heard the two of them argue about what had happened. Apparently, the man that had killed his parents, and given him his scar, was back.

"But what do you intend to do then?"

"I will simply tell the authorities that I noticed one of my teachers attacking a student. I responded, but sadly enough I overestimated his powers"

"Albus, that's insane, what if they use veritaserum?", Snape exclaimed.

"Severus, have you ever known legilimency or veritaserum to work on me?", Dumbledore stated with a smile.

Snape grimaced a bit as he heard Dumbledore's words.

"What house were you in again headmaster? I could've sworn it was Slytherin", he said, though one of the corners of his mouth was twitching a bit, "In any case, I have a potions class to teach. I shall see you later"

Without wasting time, Snape turned around, heading out of the hospital wing, his cloak billowing behind him.

"Severus", Dumbledore's voice stopped the potions master just as he reached the door, "I'll need someone to teach him how to control his power"

"I won't teach him headmaster", Snape sighed, "but if you would let me make a suggestion, I know someone that would"

Seeing only a single raised eyebrow on Dumbledore's face in response, he continued.

"I'm not the only person that has part of a weaver's ability you know. I know for a fact that just about every curse breaker in the service of Gringotts has at least some degree of the ability. Though most of them are rather weak at it compared to myself, I do know of one that is significantly more powerful than even myself. It's also an advantage that he's family of one of Potter's friends"

"Are you suggesting that we contact Bill Weasley?", Albus asked, his curiosity roused by Snape's suggestion"

"Exactly what I'm saying headmaster. I myself would have far too little patience to tutor him, just as he would have far too little to endure my presence. Letting him study under a Weasley would be a much better choice. Not only that, but I must admit that Bill Weasley is a much better weaver than I am, even if he too has only part of the ability"

"Hmmm", Dumbledore mumbled as he slowly stroked his beard, "I must agree to your proposal Severus, though I must admit, it will take quite a bit of negotiating with the goblins to allow Bill to be Harry's tutor"

Noticing that the conversation was pretty much over, Snape nodded his goodbye to Dumbledore and left the infirmary.

"Now then, seeing that your potions professor has left for his class, why don't you tell me what happened Harry", Dumbledore spoke up as he gently put Harry's glasses onto the boy's face.

Startled, Harry opened his eyes and stared directly into the twinkling blue ones of the headmaster. With a sigh, he let himself sink a bit deeper into the pillow.

"Everything you and Professor Snape said is true headmaster", he said, "But I really didn't mean to kill him or anything. I just noticed that he was hexing my broom and tried to break his concentration by giving him a pit of a push. I never intended to do anything harmful to him"

As Harry spoke, a note of uncertainty entered his voice. A quick wave of Dumbledore eased his anxiety though.

"Harry", the headmaster said in a calming voice, "What you did today was beyond your control. Nothing could've prevented it from happening, and as it was, your act revealed that Professor Quirrel had actually been possessed by Voldemort. In doing so, you probably stopped him from coming back to life for now, and you saved a lot of people with that act. Harry, sometimes it isn't easy to take a life, but at times, it's the only thing possible to keep a lot of other people, people you care about and love, from dying. Voldemort will return though, so it is possible that you may have to defend yourself again in the future"

"Did you ever have to kill someone headmaster?", Harry asked, his voice slightly quavering.

"Sadly enough, yes", Dumbledore answered, regret lining his voice, "I've had to kill a lot of people during my life, but every single time I took a life, I knew that my act would save someone else, perhaps even a dozen others. Even so Harry, you should never take a life lightly. Those that do, inevitably turn dark. Even if I have taken a lot of lives, I will never forget them, and I will always regret the fact that I had to kill them, even if their deaths were necessary"

Harry listened carefully to Dumbledore, and found himself agreeing with the aging wizard. Remembering the events that had claimed the lives of his parents, he vowed to himself that he would never kill someone again unless it was impossible to avoid, and that in doing so, he protected those he cared about. Knowing that Voldemort still wasn't completely gone, he knew that it was almost inevitable for him to avoid another one of those life-threatening situations.

Still, he had heard something rather interesting during the time he was pretending to be unconscious, and he simply couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Sir", he began, "if you don't mind me asking, who exactly is Bill Weasley? Is he related to Ginny or Ron?"

Albus' eyes widened a bit when he noticed that while Harry had immediately connected Bill to Ron, his name had been preceded by his little sister's. Wondering about what that could possibly mean, Dumbledore simply nodded to Harry and filed away the information for later reference.

"He's the eldest of the seven at their house", Dumbledore replied, "He has part of the ability as a spell weaver, and will be teaching you how to control your gift. For that however, you will need to spend at least an hour with him every day for lessons. We'll cover it up as detentions or after class potions tutoring to keep it hidden from the other students, but during the holidays, you'll have to go to the Weasley's home to study, except for one month during the summer. You'll have to go to the Dursleys for exactly one month to keep the wards surrounding that house stable. Bill will have to visit you during that month though, so you'll be able to continue your lessons even if you're at your relative's place"

"But sir", Harry interjected, "wouldn't that be rude to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? Surely they wouldn't appreciate me simply barging in like that"

Dumbledore smiled as he saw Harry worry about others before even considering himself. He was exactly like his parents for that particular character trait.

"Harry, I know Arthur and Molly well enough to know that they would gladly let you into their house. You're a friend of their children, and that makes you part of the family for as far as I know. Besides, if I explain why it is necessary, they'll know what to do. It's better to do what's right, than to do what's easy"

"Now I believe I shall have to leave you in the care of Madam Pomfrey", Dumbledore said as he stood up. He'd spotted the mediwitch approaching and knew from experience that it wasn't a good idea to get between her and an injured person, or at least one that was injured in her eyes.

Before leaving, he gave one last reassuring smile to the boy. He hoped that his little talk with Harry had sufficed to keep the young boy's demons at bay. He knew from experience that it was very easy to fall into depression after having killed someone for the first time. For someone like Harry to be forced to do it at such a tender age only made it worse.

"Muuum", Ginny shouted as she came barrelling down the stairs, "why can't Ron and Harry come along on the trip to Romania?"

Molly sighed exasperatedly as she heard her daughter ask the exact same question for the twentieth time in as many days. She hadn't minded at first, but now it was becoming incredibly irritating. She knew that Ginny had been writing to Harry Potter, but it was obvious that her daughter was pretty much completely over the crush. Of course, there was a chance that it was only the case because the communication was through letters. Still, it was better than her initial reaction at the station.

That didn't mean that she didn't think of him anymore though. There was no doubt that they'd become great pen-pals during the first term and she was being exceptionally stubborn about letting him come along to visit Charlie in Romania. But it simply wasn't possible. They'd already paid for their portkey and there simply wasn't enough money left to accommodate five more people in their travel plans.

"Ginny", she started the same speech she'd been using over and over again the past few weeks, "if we let the two of them come along, we'll have to let Percy and the twins come along as well and there is simply no way that we can afford it"

Just at the moment that Ginny was about to reply to her mother's statement, a snowy white owl flew in through the open window and perched itself onto her shoulder.

"Hedwig", she shouted, excitement clearly audible in her voice. A visit from Hedwig guaranteed a letter from Harry. It was strange though that this time, there were two letters.

Eagerly, she took the letters. She frowned a bit when she noticed that one of the two had a distinctly different handwriting on the envelope, not to mention that it was addressed to her mother.

Distractedly she handed the letter to her mother while she herself tore open her own and started reading.

It wasn't until she had read the letter through twice that she noticed her mother sitting in one of the chairs, staring at her own letter.

"What's wrong mum?", Ginny asked, curious as to what the letter said, "Who was it from?"

Molly sighed deeply before replying.

"It was from Albus Dumbledore", she said, "it says that Harry will come over to the Burrow for almost every holiday from now on, and he'll go to Romania with us as well"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello everyone, I know, it's been a while (A LONG WHILE)

In any case, here's chapter 5. It's a bit shorter than usual, but I found that this is a good place to end the chapter (Also, it's past midnight here and I'm dead tired).

Have fun reading, I'll see you when the next chapter is released.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

To say that Ginny Weasley was baffled would be the understatement of the year. All this time she'd been nagging her mom's ears off just so that Harry could join her on the trip to Romania, unsuccessfully she might add. Then, all of a sudden her mother gets a letter from Dumbledore, and she changes her mind.

While she didn't really understand the importance of the contents of the letter, she knew that she had just found a favourite headmaster. It was a dream come true. Finally she could meet Harry again. While she had to admit it was fun to write letters regularly, it was still different from talking face to face.

She could almost imagine herself running around with Harry and Charlie, dragons flying in the sky overhead. She could hear him talking to her about Hogwarts, and what all the spots of trouble he'd already caught himself in, and which of those were the fault of her brothers.

"Ginny", her mom spoke up, "I want absolutely not a word said about this at your brothers, is that clear?"

Her mother's strict tone shook Ginny out of her daydreaming. Curiously she looked up at her mother's face, wondering why she wasn't allowed to tell anyone about Harry joining her on the trip.

"Why mom? I mean, aren't they coming? And besides, why can't I tell them about it?"

"Ginny", Molly looked at her daughter with a bit of a sad look on her face, "Dumbledore insisted that not only he, but Bill as well come with us on the trip to Romania. He didn't explain why, but he said that he'd explain everything to Bill. He included the money to pay for the extra portkey fares with the letter, but we simply don't have enough money to let the rest of your brothers come along with us. I just don't want the boys to feel jealous because Harry can come along while they can't. I don't know what Dumbledore has planned, but if he requests something like this, it must be important"

As Molly kept on talking, Ginny's eyes slowly widened. While she normally tuned out a preaching like this, one phrase in particular had caught her interest. Bill, her favourite of all her brothers, was coming along with them on the trip. Almost instantly a wave of giddiness came over her and she was forced to restrain herself so she wouldn't bounce around the kitchen.

Molly sighed as she watched the attention of her daughter waver the moment she'd mentioned Bill's presence on the trip. She wondered if it'd been a better idea to simply keep that information from her until they were at the Department for International Travel at the Ministry, but had decided against it. With a bit of luck, she'd simply forget all about her brothers and carry on as she usually did. Though perhaps with a bit of added giddiness.

With a resigned sigh, she set herself to work on preparing for the trip. It didn't really matter if it was only a week until they left, she wanted to make sure that everything was perfectly in order long before they were supposed to leave. Having seven children had taught her that trouble was best avoided by being prepared.

"I still don't understand why you had me pulled off that job in Egypt", Bill Weasley said to Dumbledore as he paced around in said headmaster's office, ignoring the variety of looks on the faces of the portraits, "I mean, the goblins aren't exactly known for being easy to convince. I can only imagine the amount of galleons you had to pay them to let me come over here, let alone stay here for an indefinite amount of time. Not only that, but now that I'm here, you simply tell me that I'm supposed to join my parents on their trip to Romania? I appreciate it that you're giving me a chance to see both them, Charlie and Ginny again, but still, knowing you that's not why you did it"

Dumbledore waited patiently for Bill to finish his rant. It appeared that the redheaded wizard hadn't changed much in the past few years. He was still straight to the point, as he'd always been.

"The money doesn't matter Mr. Weasley", Dumbledore replied, "but I need your assistance with something of utmost importance"

Bill snorted, he'd heard that phrase coming from the headmaster before. Usually it meant that something wasn't going quite as he had planned and he needed someone else to fix it.

"I assume you've heard of a certain boy named Harry Potter?"

Bill frowned, of course he'd heard of the boy. He was the only one to ever survive the Killing Curse, the one that had ended Voldemort's reign.

"Who hasn't heard of him headmaster? The whole wizarding world knows who he is, the poor lad. He probably hates all the attention he's getting. Thank God that Skeeter woman hasn't gotten him in her sights yet"

Dumbledore repressed a bit of a chuckle as he watched Bill's antics. The eldest Weasley child had once been cornered by the journalist from the Daily Prophet himself, needless to say that she had left a rather distasteful impression on the young cursebreaker.

"In any case", Bill continued, "what's he got to do with all this? You need me to give him some protection or something? Or has he gotten himself cursed by something dark?"

"No, nothing of that sort Mr. Weasley. It's just that I need someone with a rather special ability for the job that I've got in mind. You see, young Harry has the ability of a weaver, and I need you to tutor him", Dumbledore explained.

"Is that it?", Bill replied, "surely there was no need to pull me out of Egypt simply for teaching him how to do some magic that most people can't do. If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Snape have the same ability, be it a bit less powerful than myself"

"Indeed he does", Dumbledore said, but waved off Bill's continuation, "it's simply that he doesn't want to teach Harry, probably because of some lingering feelings towards the boy's father. That, and I need him to stay away from the school for a little while, at least until he can control his powers"

"Headmaster, surely that isn't necessary. No matter how powerful his ability is, there shouldn't be any danger right?"

"I'm afraid you don't understand. You see, Harry is a true weaver"

Dumbledore's words shook Bill to his very core. Since he possessed part of the ability, he knew all about the powers the true weavers had.

"Are you serious?", he asked in a low voice.

"Very much so", Dumbledore sighed, "I'm afraid that young Harry doesn't have full control over his ability yet. Not to mention the fact that he's powerful, even for a true weaver. There's already been a casualty I'm afraid"

"Who was it? And why did Harry kill him?"

"It was my Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, he was trying to jinx Harry's broom during the Quidditch match versus Slytherin. Harry responded, but lost control over his power. He literally blasted Quirrel through the stands and into the ground, thirty meters lower"

Bill was baffled. Now he understood exactly why Dumbledore had him come over. Snape probably hadn't told the headmaster, but there was a good chance that even he wouldn't be able to keep Harry under control if things got out of hand.

"I see", Bill responded, "I'll do my best to teach him everything I know then"

Albus smiled broadly at this. "Thank you Mr. Weasley, I'm glad that you understand my point of view on this matter. For you see, we could very well be looking at the next Merlin in history"

Bill tilted his head in wonder as he looked at the old man, but couldn't see anything but a pair of twinkling blue eyes.

"So tell me", he said, "when and where do I see the kid?"

"You'll have to meet with Harry in the room of requirement for his training since that's the only room capable of handling a weaver at full power. As for the time, you'll be training him an hour every day while he's at school, and as much as possible during the holidays, without arousing suspicion from any of your siblings. Your parents you can tell, since they will understand the severity of the situation. He'll need to return to his relatives for one month during the summer, so you'll have to visit him there every day"

Bill frowned as he heard the headmaster explain. He wasn't convinced that even with this, he'd have enough time to teach Harry everything he knew. That, and there was the problem of him having to be at Hogwarts all the time. Given the amount of Weasleys present at the school, he was bound to run into someone of his family.

"Sir, with all due respect", he replied, "first of all, I'd like to tell you that even that amount of time is completely insufficient. That, and how are we going to explain my presence here at Hogwarts?"

"As for the amount of time you can train him, I don't know how much more he can spare, but you'll have to give me an idea of how much you need. But as for the part where you'll be here at Hogwarts, I've been thinking about it. Since you're a cursebreaker, you already have an extensive knowledge about the dark arts am I right? Well, it just so happens that I'm lacking a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor right now, so we need an interim until I can find a permanent replacement"

Dumbledore smiled widely as he said the last bit. It was completely like him to come up with a solution for one problem, and let that particular solution solve a second problem at the same time, with no extra cost.

Bill sighed, "I guess I'll have to take that post if I'm to do this, but as for the amount of time I'll need to train him. I'd say at least three hours a day, the bare minimum. As for the time outside of school, I'll be taking him as an apprentice for that, so he'll have to be with me every single moment of the day. I don't care about those wards you've put up around his relatives' house, but I can assure you that I'm more than capable of keeping away any and all unwanted visitors with my own wards"

As the red-headed man explained, he started pacing around Dumbledore's office. Already working out the details in his head. The eyes of the headmaster, and those of the previous headmasters and mistresses in the paintings following him everywhere.

That, and I'd like you to withdraw him from every class that doesn't involve spells. So no Herbology, Potions, History of Magic or anything else that might waste time needlessly. If he doesn't have to take those classes, I'm sure we can reach a decent amount of hours that can be spent with personal lessons"

Dumbledore nodded in understanding of Bill's explanation but he couldn't help but disagree. There were things that Bill didn't know yet, and as such, he couldn't make the correct decision as to what Harry should do.

"While I agree with you that Harry needs as much training as possible, and I'll even let him stay with you or your family during the holidays, which is a very big admission on my part. It's impossible for me to let him drop several of his classes. Not because it can't be done, but because he has several powerful enemies. Doing something like that would be like broadcasting that Harry's a Weaver. I would suggest that we keep his abilities a secret for now", after all, it'll only be until his third year where he can simply drop those courses. I'm afraid that you'll have to try and make do with whatever time he can spare without sacrificing any of his other classes"

Bill looked decidedly disappointed by Dumbledore's explanation, but he couldn't find a fault in the old wizard's reasoning. He knew all too well that there were still plenty of Death Eaters around that had bought themselves out of Azkaban. There was a pretty good reason why he never joined the Auror force but instead went to work with the Goblins. While they were stingy, opportunistic vultures at time, one would never find a Goblin willing to betray someone he had a contract with. If there was something the small creatures could be praised for, then it was their strict sense of honour and loyalty to their clients.

"Fine, I'll accept your terms Headmaster", Bill finally said. He knew full well what he was getting into and it wasn't going to be easy.

Bill nodded his goodbye and turned around to exit the office, when suddenly something entered his mind.

Turning around, he looked straight at the headmaster and asked, "I'm wondering actually, headmaster. Why would you want me to go with my parents and Ginny to visit Charlie in Romania? Why not let us go somewhere else, where we can practice alone, without having to risk being seen by my family"

Dumbledore grinned at that, his eyes twinkling like mad. One would never accuse Bill Weasley of not picking up on details.

"I'm very happy you made that observation Mr. Weasley, and I'll gladly explain why I chose for this course of action. You see, when I was talking to young Mr. Potter, I noticed that he immediately connected your name to a few of your siblings"

Bill sighed at that point. Apparently the twins had gotten Harry in one of their pranks. Nothing except either their mother, or the end of the world, would stop them from playing pranks on anyone or anything within their sights.

"And no", Dumbledore continued as he saw the look on Bill's face, "it was not your twin brothers, but rather your youngest brother and sister"

"Ginny?", Bill asked, "how the heck does he know Ginny? She doesn't even go to school yet"

"Indeed", Dumbledore replied gravely, "the most disturbing part is that when he asked if you were connected to any of them, he mentioned Ginevra first. Indicating that she is a better friend than Ron to him. Since she, as you mentioned, doesn't go to school yet, I am wondering what lead Harry to become such good friends with her. Not that I mind of course, but I am wondering what it might be"

"I see", Bill said as he started pacing around the room again, "you're wondering what kind of connection she has to Harry's abilities as a weaver"

"Precisely"

Bill shook his head as he listened to Dumbledore's explanation. This was going to get a lot more complicated than he originally anticipated.

Harry sighed deeply as he made his way along the corridors. He'd been released from the hospital wing only a few hours earlier, and already he had to go to a class. What's worse, was that it was the class of which he had killed the professor. It didn't really matter that the man had been possessed by Voldemort, Quirrel was still dead because of the spell that Harry had cast. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore explaining everything and giving him some comfort, he didn't know what he'd have done by now.

The only bright point in his life, was that he'd be going on a vacation during the holidays, one where he'd see Ginny again, even if he'd be accompanied by her big brother, Bill. He was still wondering whether or not he was supposed to tell Bill about Ginny being a weaver as well.

It did seem like the logical choice, given what had happened with his own powers being out of control.

Then again, it was Ginny's own choice. She had the right to decide for herself what to do about it. To simply spill her secret without her consent would be the same as betraying her, and that just wouldn't do. Ginny was the first friend he'd ever made in his whole life, his best friend, and he'd keep it that way. He'd do just about anything to preserve his friendship with her, even if it meant keeping some things from her brothers and parents.

Harry sighed again as he walked into the classroom. He wasn't exactly eager to start performing magic again, not after what happened.

Still, with Quirrel dead, he couldn't help but wonder who would be teaching the class now. With that in mind, he entered the classroom and froze.

Standing in front of the class was none other than the headmaster himself, his blue eyes twinkling like mad. Instantly, Harry knew that whatever he had planned for this class would involve a lot of fun and laughter. No one could express that much joy and happy anticipation with a single look and not act on it.

Giving the headmaster a thankful nod, Harry seated himself at a desk near the middle of the class and waited for the lesson to start.

"Welcome class", Dumbledore began as the last of the students entered, the last of them shutting the door with a resounding thud of wood on stone.

"As you all know, Professor Quirrel is no longer among us. You may have felt something odd when he passed away, and I shall tell you why this is. Professor Quirrel was being possessed by a dark wizard, and as such, was not in control of what he was doing. Therefore I ask you that you pay the utmost attention in these classes. What you learn here may very well save your life someday"

Harry noticed several of the students looking at each other as Dumbledore's words echoed around the otherwise silent classroom. It wasn't until now that most realised that the wizarding world could actually be a very dangerous place. Then again, with the kinds of spells they'd learned in this class so far, most people would think otherwise. None of them had realised the possible uses of a jelly-legs jinx in a battle.

"Well then", Dumbledore continued, "now that I have everyone's attention, we'll begin today's class. Today we'll be learning a spell that actually saved my life on several occasions, just because my opponents underestimated its power"

Harry barely suppressed a chuckle as a few students actually cringed back as Dumbledore drew his wand. Apparently one's reputation could go a long way.

"Today we'll be learning the tickling charm. Which is perfect for students of your level. There is little wand motion, simply aim at your target and say 'Rictusempra'"

What followed was one of the most enjoyable lessons Harry had ever had. After the initial shock had worn off, everyone had started practising the charm, mostly on other students. Soon enough, the entire class was roaring with laughter, especially when a stray charm hit Dumbledore. The old man couldn't help but laugh as he was literally tickled until he was practically out of breath.

Class that day ended with everyone feeling content and happy. Completely unlike the students that had entered the classroom only an hour before. Harry couldn't help but admire the Headmaster. He'd cheered everyone up, taught them a valuable spell at the same time and he'd done it all without most people even realising it. In fact, most of Harry's fellow students probably hadn't even realised that they were being taught, because for once, no one was complaining in the least about the lesson.

As the week progressed, Harry's mood simply kept on improving. Not even Malfoy's snide comments or Snape's insults could keep him down for long. Not when he had the first true vacation in his life to look forward to. Not only that, but he'd be seeing Ginny again. The only thing that bothered him a bit was that he wasn't allowed to tell either Ron or Hermione. He could understand why though. There was no telling what they'd say if he would simply walk up to Ron and say, 'You know what, I'm going on a vacation to Romania together with your parents, little sister and big brother'. Knowing him, that'd be a serious mistake to make.

No, it'd be much better if Ron just thought that he was forced to go back to his relatives.

For that reason, Harry wasn't exactly surprised when he found a letter waiting for him on his pillow, the day before everyone was supposed to leave for the holiday.

Eager to read the letter he picked it up, only to have Ron look at him strangely.

"Who's that letter from Harry?", he asked.

"Oh, it's from Dumbledore. Since my relatives are muggles, and because he thinks there might be some people after me, he decided that he should bring me to them personally, just to be safe".

"Oh", Ron said, a confused look on his face, "I still think it's weird though. Who in his right mind could be after you"

Harry looked at Ron, frowning a bit as his friend prepared to go to sleep. Ron was as oblivious as ever. Then again, he couldn't blame him. No one had ever come after Ron to kill him. He didn't have a cartload of enemies just waiting for a chance to strike at him.

No, Ron still lived in a completely different world. Free from all sorts of special powers, possessed professors and homicidal maniacs that were trying to kill everyone with blood that was from a different origin as their own.

With that in mind, he started packing his things, the rest of his fellow students looking at him curiously.

Once everyone had gone to sleep, Harry finally opened the letter. He didn't want to take any chances on someone finding out something they weren't supposed to know. He didn't like all the secrecy, but it was necessary.

Inside, he found the Headmaster's tidy writing, instructing him to report to his office at eight, when all the other students were having breakfast.

Dear Harry,

In order to keep up appearances and to make sure that tomorrow proceeds in a timely fashion, I'd like for you to report to my office at eight in the morning tomorrow.

You can find my office on the seventh floor behind the statue of the gargoyle. When standing in front of it, simply say the password, Mint Balls and the entrance to my office will appear.

Once you have arrived I will introduce you to your future teacher and you'll be on your way.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry frowned a bit at the mention of the password. He hadn't thought that someone as old and as serious as Dumbledore would've picked such an unconventional password for his office. Then again, no one without a few screws loose would ever guess a password like that, so in a way it was exceedingly clever of him.

Harry yawned as the sunlight woke him up. He'd had a very deep sleep, unlike usual. Most of the time he woke up before everyone else, but now, it appeared that he'd slept through most of the packing frenzy that apparently possessed his fellow students. He chuckled a bit as he saw Seamus and Dean race across the bedroom, trying to gather their belongings before roughly stuffing them into their trunks. Ron on the other hand was still snoring loudly. It always took something akin to a cannon firing right next to his ear to wake up the redhead.

Taking his time, Harry gathered the few things he'd still left unpacked the evening before. In no time, he'd finished packing what was left and shut his trunk. Saying goodbye to Seamus, Dean, Neville and a still sleepy Ron, he stepped out into the common room and began his trek towards the headmaster's office. Casting a quick levitation charm on the trunk, he was able to reach the seventh floor without too much problems.

Still a bit doubtful, he gave the password to the gargoyle and nearly jumped in surprise as the statue moved aside, revealing a circular staircase.

Shaking his head, he moved upwards, carefully keeping his trunk in position so that it wouldn't scrape against the sides of the narrow staircase. He'd told Hedwig earlier on that she'd better stay at Hogwarts. She'd be better off there, since Hagrid always took good care of the animals at the school. Not to mention the risk she'd be in if she came to the Romania. He knew for a fact that he was going to visit the second oldest Weasley child, Charlie, who was a dragon trainer. Not that it was hard to find out that particular bit of information. Ron practically hadn't been able to keep quiet about it.

"Please, come in Harry", he heard the headmaster's voice through the door just as he was about to knock.

"Harry, I'd like you to meet the person that is going to teach you all there is to know about being a weaver", Dumbledore said as Harry moved into the office, eyes bulging from the multitude of artefacts strewn about the room.

At Dumbledore's words, Harry tore his eyes away from the trinkets and looked at the third person in the room, and came face to face with Bill Weasley.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Boo, surprise

As a bit of a consolation to all of you that have been eagerly awaiting the next installment of The Weaver's Diary, well, here it is.

Consider yourselves lucky, I stayed up to nearly three in the morning to finish this one up, haven't even had the time to respond to the reviews of the previous chapter ^^ (but don't worry, I'll get to that).

As always, Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Err, hi", Harry said hesitantly. Bill Weasley wasn't what he'd been expecting. In his imagination he'd pictured the eldest Weasley being somewhat of a grown up version of Ron, though perhaps a bit different. Instead, the two of them couldn't be more different. Standing in front of him was a wizard in his early twenties, his long red hair tied together in a ponytail. But the most shocking aspect was perhaps the large tooth that dangled from an earring. His image was further complemented by the dragonhide boots and jacket. It made Harry think of some sort of rockstar at first glance, though he was quick to notice several faded burn marks and charred spots on the jacket, making him wonder exactly what line of work the eldest Weasley was involved with.

"A bit scrawny isn't he Albus?", Bill grinned as he looked at Harry, "though not to worry, I'm sure my mom'll get him fattened up a bit in no time"

"I'm sure she will", Dumbledore chuckled a bit as he heard Bill's remark. Molly Weasley was about as close as you could get to the stereotypical 'mother hen' type of parent. No matter who the child was, she wouldn't rest until she was absolutely satisfied that everything was in order.

"Harry", Dumbledore continued, "as I explained to you earlier, this is William, or Bill as he prefers to be called, Weasley. He'll be teaching you from now on. Since you're a bit on a tight schedule, he will have to fill you in on the details of your education while you're travelling to Romania.

Harry nodded, looking expectantly at Bill.

"Well then, Albus, we'll be off now", Bill said, throwing a pinch of powder into the fireplace, "Harry, have you ever used the Floo before?"

Harry shook his head as he warily eyed the flames that had now turned an emerald green.

"It's easy", Bill explained, "just throw a pinch of Floo powder into a fireplace that's connected to the network, step into the flames and loudly and clearly say your destination. Right now, just say The Burrow when you step into the flames"

Harry looked hesitantly at both Bill and the headmaster. He'd already seen a lot of magic at work, but still, being asked to step into a roaring fireplace was not something he'd imagined when becoming a wizard. He could see though that unlike before, the fireplace was now awash with an intricate swirl of magic.

Trusting his teachers not to do anything that may cause him harm, or rather, permanent harm, he walked into the fireplace tugging his trunk behind him, halfway expecting to be burnt to a crisp. Much to his surprise, the flames actually gave of a pleasantly warm sensation, not unlike a gentle summer breeze.

The rest of the trip wasn't as pleasant though. The moment he called out the burrow, he felt a sharp pull and was sent tumbling through a haze of colours. After a short but sickening ride, he was spat out by the fireplace on the other end and landed on the floor of the burrow with a rather resounding thud.

"Always a pretty dazzling experience eh?", he vaguely heard Bill's voice from behind him. Raising his head from the wooden floor, he saw his teacher step out of the fireplace as if he was on a Sunday stroll.

"Don't worry Harry, you'll get used to it after a while. It's like that for everyone when they first use the Floo".

Taking Bill's outstretched hand, Harry hauled himself unceremoniously from the floor and took a good look around. There was no doubt in his mind that he was currently in the kitchen in the Weasley home. The image however, clashed horribly with what he'd been expecting. He'd imagined it to be a bit like aunt Petunia's kitchen, sparkly clean with everything neatly in its rightful place. To say that this particular kitchen was the exact polar opposite would pretty much sum it up. While it was clear that some things had a rightful place, there was also a rather big amount of clutter around, or at least it seemed that way.

But even if it was completely different from what he was used to, there was no denying that there was a certain sense of cosiness exuded by the room that he'd never seen before. In fact, he could see extremely faint swirls of magic permeating the very walls of the house. Within moments he realised that throughout the generations, the Weasleys had infused their home with their magic, unconsciously creating a soothing atmosphere. It was a revelation worth researching further. Perhaps the diary had more information about it, and if not, he'd just have to investigate it himself.

He was shaken out of his thoughts though, when a somewhat plump redheaded witch stormed into the kitchen. Within moments he heard the air leave Bill's lungs in a swift gasp as she enveloped him in what seemed like a rather tight hug.

"Oh, Bill, it's been so long since I've seen you. Oh my, you've grown even taller than when I last saw you", Molly nearly shouted as she broke the hug and took a step back to study her oldest child.

"Hi mom", Bill grinned back, before waving to his father that had now entered the kitchen as well.

"I suppose that this lad here is young Harry?", Molly asked, receiving a nod from Bill in response. Smiling, she turned towards Harry

"Hello Mrs. Weasley, pleased to meet you", Harry said shyly. He wasn't exactly used to being greeted like that.

"Call me Molly, please. I've learned from Dumbledore that you'll be spending quite a bit of time with us, so please, no formalities. You're friends with two of my children already, that makes you part of the family. Now, is anyone hungry? Last chance to eat something before we leave".

With a flash of her wand that was almost too quick for Harry to see, the entire kitchen seemed to come alive. Vegetables came flying out of the cabinets and started dicing themselves up, pots and pans installed themselves onto the already lit stove. All of this happened within the span of only a few seconds. Harry stared with gaping eyes at the impressive display of household magic. He wouldn't even be able to do one of the things she did in such a short amount of time.

Within moments the kitchen was permeated with the lovely smells one could always associate to good food being prepared.

While Molly went to work on the stove, Arthur Weasley approached Harry and Bill.

"So, Bill, would you mind telling me what this is all about?", he asked. Though his tone was gentle, it didn't leave room for anything but an honest answer.

Bill nodded and motioned his father to sit down. Out of the corner of his eye, he took notice of a small spot of red peering through the nearly closed doorway. While initially planning to call out to his little sister, Bill quickly recalled Dumbledore's words about Ginny somehow being involved with Harry's abilities as a weaver.

Chuckling inwardly, he decided to try and pull the same thing Dumbledore had done earlier that week, solving two separate problems in a single go.

"Dad, you know why I went to work for Gringotts right? Besides the obvious reasons such as an adventurous job and all", he began.

"Of course", his dad replied, "besides, as you put it, the adventurous part of the job, the pay is extremely good, you get to see the world, and your abilities as a weaver are put to the best of their use..."

Bill grinned as he watched the display on his father's face as slowly the pieces fell together. It had taken only the slightest hint on his own part for his father to make the connection. Then again, Bill had been tutored himself about his weaving abilities, his parents had received all the information they needed about the ability.

If one thought logically, there was only one possible explanation that would involve Bill, his job and Harry all in one go.

"Are you telling me that Harry is a weaver, and that he needs your tutoring?"

"Not just that dad", Bill continued, "I only had part of the ability, but Harry is a true weaver, in every sense of the word"

Arthur wasn't known to be easily stunned. Given the things he came into contact with on a daily basis in his line of work, that was to be expected. Still, the moment Bill had finished talking, Arthur's jaw literally dropped. Practically at the same time, a spoon clattered to the floor right next to Molly's feet.

"You're kidding me right?", he asked, still having trouble believing the words of his son.

"I'm not dad, it's all true. I had trouble believing it myself when Dumbledore first told me, but it's true, right Harry?"

As both adults simultaneously looked at the young wizard, he found himself unable to speak. This was the first time anyone outside of his normal environment found out about his abilities. Then again, Harry assumed it was necessary. Both of Bill's parents deserved to know exactly what they were getting into, there was no doubt about that in his mind, not after what had happened to Quirrel.

"Yeah, it's true", Harry acknowledged.

Sighing deeply, Arthur sagged back into his chair. This explained a lot. The sudden letter from Dumbledore, the secrecy about Harry joining the trip to Romania. All of it fell perfectly into place now. There was still something amiss though.

"Bill, I know that look on your face", Arthur said, "there's something you're not telling me"

Bill nearly chuckled as his makeshift plan finally entered the crucial stage. He knew that his father would pick up on it if he held something back. While usually a rather big disadvantage, he'd managed to get it to work in his favour now. He simply couldn't come up with another way to bring up the subject. At least, not one that wasn't about to make his parents have a heart attack. He held back his amusement though. That would only ruin it.

"Actually, Dumbledore did tell me something interesting", Bill said, glancing rather pointedly at Harry as he did so, "you see, Harry here was apparently injured a bit during a quidditch match, during which Dumbledore also found out that he was a true weaver. When he heard my name mentioned as his future teacher though, he asked if I was in some way related to Ginny and Ron. What's interesting, is that he put Ginny's name in front of Ron's"

"That's not surprising", Molly interrupted, "he's been sending Ginny letters for the entire year now. Though I must say it compensates for the lack of letters sent by your brothers"

Harry blushed as Molly gave him an approving glance.

"Then tell me why mom", Bill continued, "why does Harry send so many letters, and how did he get to know her in the first place?"

"That's easy, the poor lad didn't know where to go when he was at the train station. We just helped him go through, Ginny must've left somewhat of an impression on him"

Bill frowned. Molly's reasoning was rather sound, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. Trusting his instincts, he decided to go for broke.

"Harry", he spoke up after a few moments of internal deliberation, "what I'm about to as you is of utmost importance. Holding anything back could have serious consequences in the future, understand?"

Harry nodded, the rather strict tone in Bill's voice left no room for argument. Just as he was about to answer, a stifled gasp resounded through the now rather quiet kitchen.

Ginny Weasley was not the type of person to stick to rules, in any kind of situation, and experience had taught her that in the burrow, an opened door, no matter how narrow the crack, was simply begging for someone to listen in on what was being said. Having six older brothers had taught the importance of having decent blackmail material on anyone in the house.

As such, she sneaked towards the door, ready to listen in on whatever was being said.

After her first glance through the door though, her initial reaction was to burst through and hug her brother, and of course to say hello to Harry. Though she was having quite a bit more trouble with that idea though. Of course, it didn't happen every day that THE Harry Potter was sitting in your kitchen, chatting with your parents.

As the conversation progressed though, Ginny's eyes widened considerably. Apparently now Dumbledore, her parents and her oldest brother knew about Harry being a weaver as well. She could only imagine how much that had to suck for Harry. He'd told her about the importance of keeping that a secret as much as possible, and here he was, sitting in a kitchen, while at least five other people knew about it.

When Bill's final question reached her ears though, she couldn't help but gasp. Did they know about her too?

"Come on in Ginny", Bill said as both his parents looked towards the door, "no use hiding now, and it's best that you're here anyway"

Dejectedly, Ginny pushed open the door and marched into the kitchen, annoyed at herself for being caught in such a stupid way, and at the same time trying to figure out if she was in any way responsible for revealing Harry's secret.

"Now now there, what's with the sour look", Bill grinned at her, "and don't I get a hug?"

Watching her brother smile at her like that, Ginny momentarily forgot about her worries and quickly bounced into Bill's waiting arms.

"Hey there Gin, I'm glad to see you again", he said as he held his little sister in his arms. He'd always considered her to be the most important of all his siblings. Most of that probably had to do with how cute the little girl was. Her antics never failed to bring a smile to his face, no matter how down he was.

Letting his sister go after a little while, he turned back to Harry.

"So, Harry, about that question I was going to ask you", he said, noticing that Ginny had gone to stand rather near Harry, "I'm going to be blunt, since there's no easy way to ask this. In what way is Ginny involved with you being a weaver?"

In the following silence that ensued, one could've probably heard a pin drop.

It was only after several tense moments that someone broke the silence. Much to Bill's surprise, it was Ginny that spoke up.

"I'm a true weaver as well Bill", she said softly, her voice barely a whisper, "Harry told me"

While her words were almost inaudible to anyone not paying attention, they nevertheless sounded like the clocks of the Big Ben itself to those present in the kitchen. With an audible clash, a few plates slipped out of Molly's hands and crashed into a million pieces as they hit the floor.

Meanwhile, Arthur, who had only just recovered from the shock of Harry being a weaver, had stood up at Bill's question. When Ginny answered though, he felt his legs give way and let himself fall back into the chair. The worn wooden construction wasn't up to the task though, and with a loud crack it gave way.

Bill on the other hand, simply sat there, staring at his sister and Harry, his look shifting from one to the other.

As he watched his father get up, shakily trying to keep his balance, he casted a quick reparo on both the chair and the plates, restoring the items to their former glory.

"Ok, this somewhat complicates things", he finally said after seeing that both his parents had recovered somewhat, "but how did you find out that she was a weaver Harry?"

"Well, you see, I found this small booklet between the regular schoolbooks Hagrid and I bought", Harry replied. There was no sense in hiding it any longer. Nothing but the truth would suffice at this point, and lying would simply lose him the trust and credibility he currently had with the Weasleys.

"When I opened it, the book sort of recognised me and told me that I was a true weaver, and that only other true weavers would be able to read it. After that it explained its functions and how it worked. It's been a major advantage so far. After Ginny ran into me on the platform nine and three quarters, she noticed the book and she could read it. So I made the logical connection"

As Harry explained, Bill noticed the look in his father's eyes. He knew that look all too well, and for once, he found himself agreeing with his parent.

"Harry, I'll need you to hand over that book right away. My dad here has a saying, never trust something of which you don't know where it keeps its brain and in this case I have to agree with him. I'll have to run some tests on it to make sure that there's nothing dangerous about it, and if I declare it safe, I'll gladly give it back to you"

Harry hesitated as he watched Bill's outstretched hand, until he felt Ginny give him a small nudge in his side. Sighing deeply, he turned around and started digging in his trunk that had, until now, stood forgotten on the kitchen floor in front of the fireplace. After a little while, he pulled out the booklet and hesitantly handed it over to Bill.

He did notice though that Bill was wearing a dragonhide glove and refused to even touch the book with his bare skin as he handled it.

Bill's eyes widened a bit as he noticed the magic surrounding the book that Harry had handed to him. Even to someone with only part of the ability, the book exuded an immensely powerful magical presence. He could only imagine the amount of potentially dangerous magic was in there. As such, he took the necessary precautions and placed it under the most powerful containment charm he knew the moment he had it in his hands.

"I am going to get it back right?", Harry asked cautiously.

"Yeah, you'll get it back Harry", Bill replied, "but only if I deem it safe. There's no telling what could happen if it was made by someone with bad intentions. I'm a professional cursebreaker, so if there's something wrong with it, I'll be able to find it, don't worry"

Bill's smile somewhat reassured him, but it wasn't until he received another gentle nudge in his side that he was completely calm again.

"Thanks Ginny", he whispered to the small redhead standing beside him.

Things were looking up for Ginny. Not only had she somewhat been able to suppress any silly actions she might've made in Harry's presence, but she'd even been able to reassure him a bit, even if it had cost her quite a bit of effort on her side not to blush like mad. She had to continuously remind herself not to blush or anything, it was just Harry, plain old Harry from the letters . Of course, the somewhat forced revelation of both her and Harry's secrets had shaken her up a bit as well, but she knew that it was probably for the best. If Bill was here to teach Harry, then she could only profit from it and be taught at the same time.

Things quieted down a bit after that. Especially after Molly decided to get some food into everyone before they had to leave.

By the time they were done, almost nothing was left from the meal she had cooked. Harry had to admit, Molly Weasley was an excellent cook. The food she made outshone even that of Hogwarts, and that was quite the accomplishment in his opinion. He was absolutely stuffed, and from the looks on both Bill and Ginny's faces, he knew that they were equally satisfied.

"So, how exactly are we going to leave?", Harry asked in a bout of curiosity. There was little he knew about magical travel, otherwise he'd have voted for a different mode of transportation out of Dumbledore's office.

"By portkey", Bill explained, "It's a rather cheap way of travelling to another country, and it's also handy if there's a few people that can't apparate"

"And what exactly are a portkey and apparating?"

Bill smacked his forehead as Harry continued his questions. He'd forgotten about Harry's muggle upbringing and had simply assumed that he knew all about portkeys and apparating.

"Sorry", he said with a wry smile, "a portkey is an enchanted object that usually activates itself on a pre-set time, though if you use a variation of the spell used to create them, you can also make it activate when it is first touched by a person. They transport themselves and all the people touching it towards a pre-set location. After activation, the timed portkeys become useless, while touch-activated ones become a two-way means of transportation. Apparition on the other hand is used by adult wizards to quickly move from one location to the other by means of magical teleportation, at least that's the easiest way to describe it. I myself don't know the exact mechanics behind it either. Better to ask someone from the Department of Magical Transportation or the Department for International Travel at the Ministry of Magic"

"No, that's alright", Harry said. There'd be enough to learn already, no need to get him hooked on yet another subject surrounding magic. It was worth looking into further though, but that was for another time.

He was distracted though when Ginny suddenly spoke up, asking her mother if she could show Harry around the house a bit.

Molly looked up in surprise, but after one glance at the clock, she gave them permission with a smile.

"Come on Harry", Ginny grinned, "I'll show you around a bit"

Having said this, she unconsciously grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him out the kitchen and onto an exploration trip of the Burrow.

"I still can't believe it", Arthur said suddenly after watching the two children leave, "not only are there two true weavers but one of them is actually my daughter. When exactly was the last time in history that two weavers were alive at the same time?"

"If I'm not mistaken, that was during the time of Merlin and Morgan Le Fay", Bill replied, "Dumbledore said that we may be looking at the new Merlin when we were talking about Harry"

"And what are you going to tell him about Ginny?", Molly asked.

"Nothing for the moment", Bill said, ignoring the small gasps coming from his parents, "and I have a very good reason for that mom. While I appreciate Dumbledore's efforts and all, I just can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something from us. Dad, you of all people should know how annoying that can be. I'm just saying that we shouldn't show our whole hand all at once, there's no point in telling him that which he doesn't need to know, and right now, he doesn't need to know about Ginny"

"You do realise that Dumbledore won't be happy when he finds out, right?", his father warned him.

"I do, but we'll just burn that bridge when we get there", Bill replied.

"So what's been going on at school lately Harry?", Ginny asked as they reached the stairs, eager to know about Hogwarts.

Harry chuckled, it was typically Ginny from in the letters, always wanting to know what went on at Hogwarts, who had been pranked by her brothers and what type of punishment they'd received for doing it. Though he did notice a slight pink tinge adorning her cheeks.

"Nothing much", Harry said, "everyone was rather subdued after what happened to professor Quirrel"

"Your Defense Against Dark Arts teacher? What happened to him?"

"Ah, right, you don't know yet", Harry smiled ruefully, "apparently he was possessed by some dark wizard and was trying to jinx me off my broom during the quidditch match. Professor Dumbledore intervened and killed Quirrel"

"Oh", Ginny said, becoming rather silent herself.

Harry sighed as he watched Ginny's reaction. Thank God that he'd chosen to go with professor Dumbledore's cover story and hadn't told her the truth about what happened, there was no telling what could happen between them if she found out that he'd accidentally killed one of the Hogwarts professors.

"In any case, enough about Hogwarts", he grinned, trying to cheer up his friend, "we already talk plenty about that in our letters, and it's vacation, no need to think of school right now"

Almost instantly Ginny's mood improved noticably.

"You're absolutely right Harry", she smiled, "now come on, I have some interesting things to show you"

Grabbing his hand again, she started pulling him up the stairs and towards the room of the twins.

"In any case, what does this mean for out family Bill?", Arthur asked his son.

"It means that I'll be staying here for the next couple of years to teach both Harry and Ginny. This of course means that Harry will practically have to live here during that time. Dumbledore has already agreed to pay for any additional costs so that won't be a problem. It's just the reaction of the others. I'm not worried about Percy, but the other three could be a problem"

"And what about Charlie?", Molly asked, curious as to why Bill had left out the second oldest Weasley child.

"Because I'll be telling him about Harry and Ginny the moment we get to Romania. I'll probably need his help a bit during the first week of their education, it's nothing serious, but I'd like to have him on standby just in case something goes awry"

"What do you mean going awry?"

"I won't lie to you mom, but there's already been a death because of Harry's powers, and please let me explain before you say anything", Bill quickly added, seeing the look on Molly's face, "the professor in question was possessed by a dark wizard and tried to attack Harry. That's all Dumbledore was willing to tell me"

"And he told you to bring Harry along with us to Romania, when Ginny is bound to be nearby?", Molly was now nearly shouting, Dumbledore had apparently chosen to endanger her family simply because he thought that Ginny was somehow involved.

"Listen to me mom", Bill tried to calm her, "it was an accident, and now that we know that Ginny's a weaver as well, it's best that they work together with my supervision. Or would you've preferred them practising in secret without any of us knowing? Without any guidance, running a much greater risk at injuring themselves or others?"

Molly sighed, her son was right. Being aware made her worried, but at least she knew that they were under Bill's guidance. It was a lot better than waking up one day, only to find that something had gone horribly wrong during a spell.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Ginny?", Harry asked as they approached the door to Fred and George's bedroom.

"Don't worry, I'm quite sure that I've set off most of the traps by now, and mom probably activated the rest as she cleaned up the mess of the ones I tripped", Ginny smiled, "besides, it's a veritable treasure trove for all sorts of pranking items, if you know where to search for them. Oh, and don't give me that look"

Giving Harry a slight smack in the arm as she noticed the doubt still present in his eyes.

"Now come on, we don't have that much time remaining, and I want some decent stuff to prank Bill and Charlie with", she said, carefully opening the door.

Casting a few glances at the interior of the room, she snuck in, Harry following closely behind her.

"Now let's see, where did I find those rigged sweets last time", she muttered as she studied several of the drawers, "ah, that's the one"

Just as she was about to open the drawer though, Molly's voice rang up from downstairs.

"Ginny, Harry, we're about to leave, come on down now"

In a normal situation, those words wouldn't have fazed Ginny, but combined with the tension of trying to open a probably rigged drawer, it was more than sufficient to make Ginny jump in surprise. As a result, she pulled the drawer completely open.

Harry looked at Ginny as he heard several clicks and whirring sounds the moment the drawer opened. At the same time, she looked at Harry with a rather desperate look on her face.

"Oh bugger"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well hello there, good to see you again. It's taken some time, again, but finally I can release this chapter. University's been keeping me rather occupied (apparently every single professor decided that it would be a good idea to give us a rather big assignment)

In any case, I hope this chapter is enjoyable for you all, and if not, well, too bad then I guess. But let me know if there's anything that you think I could do better

See you guys on the next chapter ^^

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Get down", Ginny shouted as she literally threw herself against Harry, the impact pushing both of them through the doorway and into the hall. The door closing right behind them, intent on locking both of them inside.

Before Harry head realised what had happened, a muffled bang followed by a rather sickening splat could be heard coming from the other side of the door.

"What in the world was that", he breathed, still trying to make sense of what had happened.

"A trap set by my loveable brothers", Ginny groaned, "judging from the sound we heard they'd rigged a few of their specialised paint dungbombs to go off should someone open that particular drawer. Thank Merlin that we were able to escape relatively unharmed. But I'm not exactly keen to see the inside of their room right now though"

Harry nodded in agreement. Judging from what he'd heard in Hogwarts alone, he knew that the twins were pranksters extraordinaire and as such, were not to be underestimated. He did realise though, that there was another pressing problem, one that Ginny had apparently not yet realised.

"Ginny, Harry, come on down, what's taking you so long", Molly's voice could be heard from downstairs again.

Ginny started again as she heard her mother call out for them. There was the one person that really wasn't going to like what had happened to the room.

It wasn't until she tried to pick herself up from the floor that she realised where she was though. In her panicky haste, she had apparently thrown herself blindly into the hallway. The main problem however, was that in doing so, she had thrown herself on top of Harry, who was now lying on the floor, pinned beneath her.

Almost instantly she blushed a deep shade of crimson and jumped upright as if she'd been burned.

"S-S-Sorry", she stammered as she quickly ran down the stairs, leaving a baffled Harry lying on the floor.

"Calm down Ginny, calm down", Ginny said to herself several times before she entered the kitchen. With an audible sigh she noticed the heat leave her cheeks. She just hoped it was enough as to not arouse any suspicion.

While her somewhat ruffled looks did raise a few eyebrows, no-one really paid attention to it. Everyone was already busy with putting together the trunks and shrinking them down so they could be carried more easily to the Ministry.

Meanwhile, Harry was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened, and why Ginny had responded the way she did. Shaking his head, Harry stood up and chose to ignore her reaction. It was probably a girl thing or something. After all, Hermione also showed some strange behaviour from time to time, and most of the time it was revealed to be something that only girls would do and understand.

"You ready to go Harry?", Bill asked as soon as he set foot in the kitchen, the Weasley's already waiting in front of the fireplace.

"Yeah, I'm good", Harry replied, eagerly anticipating the trip. Not only was he going somewhere outside of the UK for the first time in his life, but he'd also be taught personally by the person he currently considered to be rather trustworthy. After all, he simply had to be if he were trusted by Dumbledore and Ginny.

"Good, I'll be making a small detour via Diagon Alley, but I won't be too long", Bill said, giving his father a knowing look before turning towards the fireplace, throwing a handful of powder in it and vanishing amidst a swirl of green flames.

After carefully shrinking down Harry's trunk, he and the rest of the Weasleys used the floo to go directly into the Department of Magical Transportation, where they arrived in a small chamber filled with nothing more than a single desk with chair, a few filing cabinets, some bookcases and a few random items such as a worn-out kettle, a pair of mismatched socks, and some various other trinkets whose actual use in a Ministry of Magic office completely baffled Harry.

"It's a good thing Dumbledore has this much influence in the Ministry", Arthur said in a soft voice as they stood in the room, carefully knocking the dust and soot out of their clothes, "I wouldn't trust anyone else but Twycross to be discreet enough with a situation like this, except perhaps Kingsley, but this isn't his department"

"What do you mean a situation like this Mr. Weasley?", Harry asked.

"Harry, you're not exactly a person that can keep a low profile by simply walking around in plain sight. Wherever you go, people will recognise you. What Dumbledore did was arrange a 'private' portkey, or rather, that's the best way to describe it. For as far as anyone but Dumbledore, Twycross or us is considered, you'll just be Ron Weasley leaving on a trip to Romania to visit his brother".

Harry simply nodded, he'd seen enough proof of that, and given the nature of their little trip, it was indeed the best choice to keep it a secret.

"But what if a student at Hogwarts somehow tells someone from the ministry that he saw Ron walking around at the school during the holidays?", Harry asked.

Just as Harry asked this question, the fireplace roared, sending a coughing redhead stumbling into the office. The surprising thing was though, that the moment he came out of the fireplace, Bill began chuckling inwardly, much to Harry's dismay. He'd only pointed out a flaw in the plan, that wasn't a reason to start laughing at him.

"Don't worry about things like that Harry", the redhead said as he too stepped out of the fireplace, "once we've started with your lessons, you'll understand that you can do things with magic that you wouldn't have considered to be possible".

The confident grin on Bill's face said more than a thousand words, and Harry wisely refrained from asking. He knew that he'd probably get to know all about it in the near future.

"Are you sure you picked the right one Bill?", Arthur asked his oldest son.

"I did dad", he replied, still smiling widely, "if not, I wouldn't be able to call myself a cursebreaker, or part weaver for that matter".

"Sorry for doubting you son", Arthur smiled. Even after all these years, Bill still hadn't changed.

"What did you pick up in Diagon Alley Bill?", Ginny asked, making no effort to conceal her curiosity.

"That's for me to know and for you to try and find out Gin", he smiled, resisting the puppy-eyes look Ginny was giving him, something his parents still had trouble with, even after all this time.

Just as Ginny was about to change tactics and simply go for whatever Bill had bought in the Alley, a pale, nearly insubstantial man walked into the office, carefully checking whether or not he'd been followed, or if someone had cast a supervising charm in the small instant the door had been opened.

After waving his wand a few times, casting some precautionary privacy spells, he turned towards Arthur.

"Good to see you here Arthur, I was wondering what all the secrecy was about but with both Dumbledore and the little lad here involved, I guess it's useless to ask why", he grinned as he shook hands with his colleague, giving a respectful nod to the others present in the room.

To his credit, his eyes lingered on Harry for half a second longer than the rest of the family, Bill noticed. That, and they didn't even flash upwards, looking for the tell-tale scar that would prove his identity time and time again.

"So", Twycross continued, "is everyone ready to go? I'm sort of doing this outside of the regular channels and this isn't really my field of work, so this needs to be done as quickly as possible".

Nodding their understanding, Bill, Arthur and Molly grabbed a hold of Harry and Ginny and moved closer to Twycross, who had already grabbed a random sock off the desk.

Pointing his wand at the smelly old fabric, he muttered an incantation, causing the sock to glow brightly for a few seconds.

"There, it's done", he smiled as he handed the sock to Mr. Weasley, "it'll activate in ten seconds and return you here at the agreed upon time. Have a nice trip and be safe".

"Come on kids, grab a hold of the sock and don't let go", Arthur said, signalling his intention to both the kids.

After sharing a quick, but rather disgusted look, both Harry and Ginny took a firm hold of the sock. Within moments, both of them felt a sharp pull behind their navel, right before they landed face first into a rather large pile or Romanian snow.

"C-c-cold", was the first thing Ginny said as she pulled her head out of the pile, teeth chattering audibly over the fierce gales that buffeted their surroundings, throwing up small bits of snow and ice which added to the already freezing temperatures.

"It's a bit cold here yeah", Bill muttered darkly as he grabbed Harry by the back of his robes, pulling him up onto his feet in a single fluid motion.

While they had dressed against the winter climate in Britain, compared to the icy winds in Romania, they might as well have dressed against a cool summer breeze. This quickly left every member of the Weasley and Potter family present shaking uncontrollably in the biting cold.

"Oh dear me", Molly huffed as she started fussing over the two kids, "lets get you two somewhere warm right away before you turn into ice cubes on the spot".

"Mum, Dad, over here", Bill heard the faint voice of his younger sibling over the storm.

Sure enough, mere moments after Bill had turned his head towards the source of the sound, the stocky figure of his brother appeared in the distance.

Nodding to his parents, Bill quickly cast a few warming charms on himself and the rest. As it was, they didn't take too long to reach him. Though the dragon trainer almost forcibly had to stop his mother from hugging him.

"Mum, save that for later in the tents, right now we need to get out of this weather", he said, a sense of urgency clearly audible, "the storm's picking up and is probably going to hit us full force within the hour".

Nodding to his parents, he led the family as they slowly made their way towards the encampment right on the edge of the largest dragon reserve in Europe.

After a walk of a few minutes, they reached what seemed to be a few snow covered tents hidden away between some sturdy bushes. Much to Harry's surprise, Charlie entered one of the tents, with every member of the Weasley family following closely behind him. Curiously, he walked around it a few times, trying to find out how on earth it was possible for it not to appear filled to the brim with Weasleys. The answer however, came to him rather quickly.

"Of course", Harry sighed, "magic".

His suspicions were confirmed the minute he stepped into the tent. The difference with the weather outside was immense. Instead of the freezing cold, it was pleasantly warm inside, and it looked more like a house than a tent.

"Ah, that's better, oomph", Charlie managed to say right before his mother's hug crushed all the air out of his lungs.

As Charlie suffered the consequences of not seeing his mother for a rather long while, Bill took a rather curious look around the tent. It was obvious that it had been charmed to be bigger on the inside than on the outside, not that it was that obvious, since the tent itself had been mostly covered in snow.

"So a reinforcement charm on top of an extension charm, plus the obvious heating and drying charms for use in bad weather conditions", he mused, "pretty well made".

For the rest it was a rather straightforward set-up, a small kitchen back in one of the corners and a massive dining table dominating the centre of the tent. Opposite of the entrance was a small fireplace with some rather comfy looking chairs situated next to it. Some tomes, obviously related to dragons, were laying haphazardly strewn across the furniture, though some were actually in the right place, together with some wizarding games.

Noting the amount of chessboards and packs of exploding snap, Bill figured that the nights here in Romania could become rather boring.

One thing was rather odd though. While there were definite signs that the tent had been lived in by several people, right now there was no-one here except for himself and the rest of his family.

"Hey, Charlie", he asked, giving his brother the much needed chance to escape his mother's grasp, "where's the rest of the dragontrainers".

"They went to the storm cabins a few hours ago. During a storm, we usually don't stay in the tents, since they might be blown over by the wind. The risk is small, but we'd rather not take it. Then again, since you hadn't arrived yet, I couldn't do anything but stay here and wait, and going to the cabins now would be suicide"

"So we'll be here by ourselves for now Charlie?", Arthur asked his second oldest son.

"Until this storm blows over? Pretty much yeah", Charlie replied as he casually grabbed a towel draped over one of the worn chairs standing at the dining table, "but no worries there, it probably won't last longer than a day or two".

With a grin, Charlie disappeared behind one of the many flaps that lined the sides of the main area of the tent. Moments later, he appeared again, only this time without the thick coat he'd been wearing so far.

With a gulp, Harry noticed several large burns and signs of healed ones decorating Charlie's arms. Given his occupation, one didn't have a hard time figuring out where they came from.

Other than that, it was clear that Charlie, like Bill, was used to working outside. Callouses decorated his hands, while his face was weathered from the amount of sun and wind he endured.

While it might be a bit contradictory to have sunburn in an ice cold place like Romania, it was actually quite normal. Harry remembered Dudley having sunburn when they'd gotten back from their small skiing trip way back in Harry's childhood.

A large shout from Molly suddenly startled the room, and within moments, Charlie was back under his mother's attention, who was fussing about the burns this time, leaving Charlie to grin sheepishly to the rest of his family.

"Now sit down young man and let me take care of these", Molly said with a decisive tone of authority when she'd finished inspecting the burns.

With a resigned look on his face, Charlie sat down on one of the chairs at the dining table and pulled his shirt off over his head, revealing even more burns and thus eliciting even more huffs from his mother, who instantly got to work.

"We've already made the necessary changes to accommodate all of you", Charlie said, wincing sharply as Molly unexpectedly poked on one of his half-healed burns, "if you go through the flap I went through, you'll find a corridor, each of you has his own room there, so no need to bunk together".

As he said this, he gave a subtle wink at Ginny. He knew of her crush on Harry, and simply couldn't resist some teasing, especially not since the object of her crush was standing a mere three feet away. He was surprised though when she turned bright red and tried to hide herself behind her trunk.

"But seriously now", he continued, "why is Harry Potter of all people here? And why did you ask me to make a reinforced room in the corridor as well?"

"For the same reason I bought this", Bill replied as he pulled a long package out of his robes, "You wanted to know what I bought in Diagon Alley Gin? Here you go, it's yours".

Momentarily forgetting the earlier embarrassment, Ginny walked over to Bill, grabbed the box and eagerly opened it. As she looked inside, her eyes widened before she threw herself at Bill, attempting to re-enact a Molly Weasley style hug.

"What is it Ginny?", Harry asked, curious as to what she'd gotten.

"He gave me a wand", she cheered, bouncing with excitement.

Almost reveringly, she pulled out the gleaming wood. Within an instant, a bright glow suffused the room as the magic contained in the wand bonded itself with her.

"Well done Bill", Arthur smiled from ear to ear, "I knew you'd pick the right wand for her. What's it made of?".

"Maple, 7 and three quarter inches with a dragon's heartstring as the core, a Hebridean Black's", Bill replied.

"Really now?", his father said, "Somewhat figures though, Ollivander's always had a preference for dragon heartstring cores".

"So why give Ginny a brand new wand? And what does this have to do with that room I made?"

"It's rather simple Charlie", Bill said, "You see, Harry and Ginny are both true weavers".

After letting the shock settle in a bit, Bill explained the entire story about the two kids, though leaving some things out here and there. All the while Charlie's mouth remained agape. Obviously, Bill's words had stunned the otherwise so imperturbable dragon trainer.

They went to bed early that night. After unpacking their belongings and eating a hearty dinner, Bill had told Ginny and Harry to get some sleep, since he'd be starting their training the next day, and he'd promised that it would be the hardest thing they'd ever done.

Harry awoke the next day as a ray of light fell through the enchanted window on the side wall of his room. During the night, the storm had died down and the sun had broken through the clouds, transforming the dark and gloomy landscape into a glittering white paradise, that was not taking into account the icy cold though. It may have been sunny, but the temperatures were still freezing. Then again, from inside the tent, Harry didn't really notice anything concerning that.

He put on his clothes and took care of some basic hygiene in record pace before sprinting out into the main area of the tent. As it was, he wasn't the first there. Charlie had already finished eating and was getting ready to go outside and clean up the massive amount of snow that had fallen during the night. His wand drawn and a determined look on his face, he opened the door, avoided the miniature avalanche that came through and started blasting the snow outwards with some well-aimed spells.

Watching this spectacle were Bill and Ginny, the former with an amused smirk on his face, the latter with a piece of toast in her mouth, unable to decide whether to actually chew it, or to continue watching the somewhat comical scene of Charlie attacking the snow head-on.

After eating a rather decent breakfast, which ended up with Bill instructing Harry and Ginny to eat several times more than normal, the two children were instructed by their elder to move to the special training room Charlie had set up for them.

Much to their dismay, he told them that they wouldn't be going outside for the first few days. Not only did the snow have to be cleaned up, but Bill would also need the time to get a decent gauge on their powers.

"So, Harry, what kind of spells do you know already?", Bill asked as the three of them sat down at a small table situated in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

"Summoning and banishing charms, scourgify, all the basic spells taught in the Hogwarts first year curriculum and almost all transfiguration spells covered in the first few years, I've already gotten to animal transfiguration but then vacation started and I had to stop reading", Harry explained.

"I see", Bill nodded, "I'll need you to forget everything you've learned so far though, and promise me that you won't use any spells we haven't seen during my lessons".

"But why?", Harry protested. He'd spent some serious time on learning the spells. Giving them up only to start over from scratch wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"Because I say so", Bill said sternly, "I'll need the both of you to understand this very clearly. The two of you are probably the most powerful wizard and witch currently alive. So many things could go wrong because of an accidental magical discharge. People could get seriously hurt if you fail to control your power, and learning spells the normal way won't allow you to control them with the same amount of precision as the way I'm going to teach you. Follow my rules, and you'll be at the level you were and further within the end of the year. Don't, and you'll be put through a most unpleasant punishment".

Noticing the incredibly serious look on Bill's face, both of the kids nodded their understanding. Mostly because they suspected that the punishment would be really, really bad.

"Well then", Bill continued, "the first thing you'll need to know is that magic exists just about anywhere. There's a huge amount of wizards, witches, magical creatures and what else out in the world. Not only that, but even muggles and normal plants and animals have some amount of magical energy, which explains why muggleborns are born".

"Magic can only be used by people or creatures with the right affinity for it, though not everyone uses it in the same way. The shamans in Africa for example use dances, chants and special talismans to influence things such as a person's health, luck or even the weather. The Scandinavians on the other hand were masters of runes which they used to tap into the power of nature itself. Every single culture has different ways of channelling and focussing magic. While we use wands, the Japanese and Chinese use specialised hand-seals that form the necessary magical circuit one needs. Alchemy from the old times also used this principle, but they on the other hand used complex circles to create the proper result. What I eventually want from the two of you, is that you will either create your own method of spellcasting, or become proficient in the use of several that already exist".

"Create our own method of spellcasting?", Ginny asked incredulously, "is that even possible?".

"For a normal person and even a partial Weaver such as myself, it would be impossible. The two of you on the other hand, are True Weavers and thus aren't limited by things like that", Bill smiled.

"But since we can't use any magic we've learned at Hogwarts, how are we going to do spells that we use in classes?", Harry asked. While it wasn't really a problem for Ginny since she still had about half a year before she went to school, it was a serious issue for Harry.

"Don't worry about that Harry", Bill said, "I'll be taking over the DADA classes, so I'll be at the school. And I'll also make sure that I teach you the correct way to learn the spells before each class. Most people won't even recognise the difference, since it's mostly the way you handle the magic inside of you. The wand movement and the incantation remain completely the same. Be forewarned though, the way I'll be teaching you is several times harder to learn than normal, because of the immense increase in control you gain from it".

After explaining some of the basic issues they'd have with the lessons, Bill started off with a basic lecture about the way one cast standard magic in the standard way. It all consisted of three elements: wand motion, incantation and intent.

Weavers however, were not bound by these limitations, and even most partial weavers could entirely skip the first two parts of casting, effectively achieving silent and wandless magic.

"Now, let's begin with some basic spells", Bill said as he drew his own wand, and started casting.

"Wow", Ginny muttered as she and Harry stepped out of the room and into the main living area. They'd been practising for the better part of the day, only stopping to get some food into their stomachs.

As it was, they were exhausted. They'd been casting low-levels spells over and over, while Bill constantly lectured them about theoretical magic. As such, they were forced to divide their attention between the spellcasting and listening to Bill, a task that was rather hard in the beginning. The result was a lot more accidental misfires of spells than either of them would've wanted.

Ginny smiled ruefully as she recalled one of the more nasty accidents.

They'd been instructed to cast a levitation charm on a few pillows Bill had conjured for them. While she'd been focussing on getting the spell to work, Harry's pillow had suddenly rocketed past her ear, heading straight for Bill's face. She tried to shout a warning, but it was too late. Or so she thought. A bright flash blinded her for a fraction of a second, leaving small black dots dancing in front of her eyes. She sneezed involuntarily as an acrid smell curled its way into her nostrils. Even as small plucks of feather twirled softly towards the floor.

It took her only a moment to realize that Bill was standing there, arm outstretched, while the pillow had been literally shredded to bits in an instant.

"And that's why I want you to practise each and every spell with me around before you try something else", he smiled at Harry, "Tell me, has a spell you cast ever had more effect than you actually wanted".

To this, Harry simply nodded sheepishly. He knew he'd lost control over the spell, it was just his bad luck for it to fly straight at the person teaching him.

"Then now you know why I said never to use a spell we haven't practised. Imagine that you're in the DADA classroom, practising a spell that makes stuff explode, such as reducto, and you lose control over it. I've made my point haven't I?"

Ginny shuddered as she thought back to what Bill said, but she still wondered why Harry had lost control all of a sudden. She still couldn't put the event of yesterday out of her head though.

"Harry", she asked, a blush still adorning her cheeks, "how come you lost control like that?"

He grimaced as he heard her question, but still turned towards her.

"I think it's because I've been learning magic the wrong way for a while now, it's easy for me to fall back into my old way of casting", he said, "but it still frightens me. I had a transfiguration spell go out of control once during class. Your brother is right, if that had been a potentially harmful spell, it could've injured or even killed a lot of people".

The serious look on Harry's face broadcast his fear. Ginny understood how frightened he was. She too would have to watch out with how she performed magic, after all, she was training together with two of the most precious people in her life.

Her blush deepened as she caught herself thinking that and realised the implications, but nevertheless, she simply couldn't deny it. Overtime, she'd really come to appreciate Harry's letters, and he'd quickly become her best friend, even if it was through the use of quill, parchment and owl. Her crush from when she was younger was irrelevant. Harry wasn't some sort of hero, she realised. No, he was simply a boy that was a little more powerful than the rest of the kids she knew. Not only that, but he was frightened of it and the harm he could inadvertently cause.

She mentally kicked herself for reacting the way she had the day before. Had she not pushed Ron out of the way several times in the same manner, with the same result. Then again, Ron was her brother, while Harry was...

"Argh", she muttered, placing her hands at the sides of her head, eliciting a strange look from Harry.

"Sorry", she said, "I'm having trouble thinking".

Harry nodded sympathetically, no words had to be said about her current condition. After all, she'd gone through the same gruellingly hard lesson he had, and she didn't even have a knowledge base to work with.

With that in mind, Harry pulled back a chair at the table for her to sit on, and sat down right next to her.

A hungry growl could be heard from both their stomachs as Molly put down several steaming platters in front of their noses, making the Weasley matriarch smile with obvious contentment.


End file.
